The US uncovers plans for The Sicilian Defence, a new weapons system that will erect a forcefield that will be impervious to any missile attack. However, the only thing powerful enough to fuel the system is the rare mineral Byzanium. The only known source of Byzanium was mined on the remote island of Swardlov in the Baltic in 1912. Back then, the miners attempted to get back to the US with the supplies pursued by Russians agents but the ship they chose to board was The Titanic and all the supplies sank aboard it. And so the US Navy come up with the far-fetched scheme of raising the wreck of the Titanic to obtain the Byzanium. The man chosen to head the massive engineering operation is maverick former Navy officer Dirk Pitt. He must not only locate the wreck of the Titanic but dive in submersibles to place flotation devices that will raise it to the surface. However, a spy aboard the fleet has alerted the Russians as to what is happening and they attempt to stop the operation.