Ben Gates and his father have lobbied to get their ancestor Thomas Gates, the man who was entrusted with the secret of the Templars treasure, honored as a historical hero. They believe that Gates was approached by two men who unbeknown est to him were members of a group loyal to the confederacy, and one of the men, John Wilkes Booth, give him his journal and shows him something they want him to decipher. Booth then leaves to assassinate Lincoln. Gates completes the deciphering and discovers that it's a clue to a great treasure but when Gates learns who they are, he rips out pages that had the clue and tried to bur them, he would then be shot. At the unveiling, a man named Wilkinson stands up claiming to have in his position one of the pages that Gates tried to burn and in it, is something that claims that Gates may have been involved with the plot to assassinate Lincoln. So now Thomas Gates is labeled a traitor. But Ben and his father don't believe it. So they acquire the page and discover what Gates was deciphering and sets out to prove that Gates is innocent. But Wilkinson is following him. Ben's trek takes him to France, England, and eventually back to Washington but they hit a road block. And to find the clue Ben is forced to kidnap the President.

Because of her role in The Queen (2006), Helen Mirren was invited to meet Queen Elizabeth II, but couldn't make the meeting because she was in South Dakota filming this movie.

[from trailer]


Riley Poole:
So let's recap: We've broken into Buckingham Palace, and the Oval Office, stolen a page from the President's super-secret book, and actually kidnapped the President of the United States. What are we gonna do next, short-sheet the Pope's bed?


Ben Gates:
Well, you never know.

Boom mic visible: After Riley jumps into his shiny red Ferrari, a reflection is seen in the car's paint on screen left.

Written by Barry De Vorzon (as Barry Devorzon), Richard Hazard
Courtesy of APM Music