Jason Beyer and his side-kick Carl Crawford are the leaders of an inner-city youth group who embark on a whitewater adventure into the Gila Wilderness. The novice paddlers are tested to the limit when the normally mild Gila River turns into a raging torrent that sweeps the group deep into the Gila Gorge and into the middle of a sinister plot led by a ruthless billionaire industrialist to uncover a national secret of hidden treasure, that if exposed could alter the world's economy. Chests of gold given to early explorers by an ancient people and lost on the Gila River provide the crucial link to the greedy billionaire's discovery of the riches. Only through the heroic actions of Jason and his group can the plot be foiled.