Dan Underwood is a ruggedly handsome photo journalist; Art Henley is a retired cop from Kansas; Cody Johnson is a New York con artist; and Carrie Welby is a shoe buyer for a department store. That is until one fateful day when they are whisked away for the adventure of their lives. Initially, each is told they have won a free vacation in Glendora, a small kingdom in the South of France. But upon arrival, they are taken directly to the royal palace and greeted by the aging King Charles. They are informed that each is in line to succeed the throne. It seems the aging King Charles is the last of his line and unlikely to produce an heir. If that happens, Glendora's charter will expire and it's lands will revert to France. Fortunately, there is a loophole. It seems a similar situation occured back in the 13th century, and France had allowed Glendora to choose a new heir from outside the direct line of ascention. So now, it turns out, Glendora must restage the original 13th century q

Dan Underwood is a ruggedly handsome photo journalist; Art Henley is a retired cop from Kansas; Cody Johnson is a New York con artist; and Carrie Welby is a shoe buyer for a department store. That is until one fateful day when they are whisked away for the adventure of their lives. Initially, each is told they have won a free vacation in Glendora, a small kingdom in the South of France. But upon arrival, they are taken directly to the royal palace and greeted by the aging King Charles. They are informed that each is in line to succeed the throne. It seems the aging King Charles is the last of his line and unlikely to produce an heir. If that happens, Glendora's charter will expire and it's lands will revert to France. Fortunately, there is a loophole. It seems a similar situation occured back in the 13th century, and France had allowed Glendora to choose a new heir from outside the direct line of ascention. So now, it turns out, Glendora must restage the original 13th century quest to

The royal contenders are in Paris for a brief rest before starting the next leg of the quest when Cody receives a visit by an old con-artist buddy of his. It seems Cody has been writing the man and bragging about his royal lineage. But he may have said too much, revealing enough information for his friend, a renowned ""second-story man,"" to bypass Glendoran security and steal the crown jewels. Now he's ready to split the take with Cody, who fails in his attempts to convince his old friend to return the items. Complicating matters is the fact that both Glendoran security and Count Dardinay's henchmen are hot on the man's trail. Dardinay's men finally catch up to him and shoot him. The man dies leaving only one clue to the whereabouts of the jewels: ""Marineland,"" setting off a frantic race to recover the royal treasures.

In a small village in Italy, Art is relaxing at an outdoor cafe when suddenly he is barraged by machine gun fire from a passing car. Unhurt, he notifies Sir Edward, who rushes with the other contenders to the village. But when they get there they can't find Art. They are able to locate an elderly woman who Art had befriended. When questioned about Art's disappearance, she points to a large mansion on a nearby hilltop and cries out, ""He stole-a my Art."" No one in town is willing to talk about who lives in the fortress, but it's clear everyone is afraid of whoever it is, including the local police, who refuse to help. So Dan, Cody, Carrie, and Sir Edward mount their own rescue effort. SPOILER: It turns out the man living in the old mansion is a former crime boss from the United States who Art once arrested. The man later faked his own death and escaped to Italy to hide from his enemies. When Art showed up in the village he couldn't take a chance that the ex-lawman might recogni

Dan, Art, Cody, and Carrie are summoned to Africa by Sir Edward. Once there, they are informed that King Charles has disappeared while on a safari and is feared dead. If true, that would put an end to the quest and Glendoran sovereignty. The group sets out into the wild to find the King and end up being captured by cannibals. Back at the native camp, the group is reunited with King Charles. It turns out the cannibals are not a threat, but are protecting the King from poachers whom the King witnessed illegally killing endangered species. But now the poachers are closing in on the village, ready to eliminate all witnesses to their crimes.

In Los Angeles, a beautiful heiress breaks into Dan's hotel room one morning, claiming she's been kidnapped and begging for Dan's help. Dan tries to help her out of the hotel, but the woman is recaptured by her abductors and disappears. Feeling guilty, Dan convinces the others to help him locate and rescue the woman. What no one realizes is that the entire situation is a setup by Count Dardinay to lure the group into a trap.