Benjamin Franklin Gates is an American historian,
cryptographer, and treasure hunter. When Ben was young, his grandfather John told him a story about a fabled treasure hidden in America passed down from ancient times to the
Knights Templar,
Founding Fathers, and
Freemasons. In 1832,
Charles Carroll passed on a secret clue to their ancestor, Thomas Gates, and could lead anyone to the treasure with the phrase "the secret lies with Charlotte". While the story convinces Ben, his skeptical father, Patrick, dismisses it as nonsense. Ben and his friend, computer expert Riley Poole, head an expedition financed by wealthy Englishman Ian Howe to find the
Charlotte, revealed to be a ship found in the
Arctic. Within the ship, they find a
meerschaum pipe, whose engravings reveal the next clue is on the
Declaration of Independence. When Ian reveals himself as a
crime boss and suggests stealing the Declaration, a fight ensues, and the group splits. Ben and Riley report Ian's plan to the
FBI and to Dr. Abigail Chase of the
National Archives but are not believed. Ben decides to protect the Declaration by stealing it from the Archives' preservation room during a gala event before Ian does. Obtaining Abigail's fingerprints, he successfully obtains the Declaration, but he is spotted by Ian's group just as they break in to steal it. Ben tries to leave via the
gift shop but has to pay for the Declaration when the cashier mistakes it for a souvenir copy. Suspecting something amiss, Abigail confronts Ben and takes back the document. Ian promptly kidnaps her, but Ben and Riley rescue Abigail, tricking Ian by leaving behind a souvenir copy of the Declaration. The FBI, led by Special Agent Peter Sadusky, begins tracking Ben. Going to Patrick's house, the trio studies the Declaration and discovers a
book cipher written in invisible ink. The message refers to
Benjamin Franklin's
Silence Dogood letters. Patrick formerly owned them but donated them to the
Franklin Institute. Paying a schoolboy to view the letters and decipher the code for them, Ben, Riley, and Abigail discover a message pointing to the bell tower of
Independence Hall. Pursued by Ian, Ben cuts out a marked brick containing a pair of spectacles with multiple colored lenses, which, when used to read the back of the Declaration, reveal a clue pointing to
Trinity Church. Ian's associates chase the trio through
Philadelphia until the FBI arrests Ben. Abigail and Riley lose the Declaration to Ian, but Abigail convinces Ian to help them rescue Ben in exchange for the next clue. Ian agrees, contacts the FBI, and arranges a meeting at the
USS Intrepid, where they help Ben evade the FBI. Ian returns the Declaration and asks for the next clue, but when Ben remains coy, Ian reveals he has taken Patrick hostage. They travel to the Trinity Church, where they find an underground passage that appears to lead to a dead end, lit by a lone lantern. Patrick claims it is a reference to the Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere, pointing Ian to the
Old North Church in
Boston, a claim that Ben supports. Ian traps the group in the chamber and leaves for Boston, after which Ben and Patrick reveal it was a false clue to get him out of the way, having anticipated the fact that he would betray them. Ben then finds a notch the meerschaum pipe fits into, opening a large chamber containing the treasure, with a staircase to the surface. Ben meets up with Sadusky—who is actually a Freemason—at ground level to return the Declaration. In exchange for dropping the charges on him and Abigail, Ben decides to donate the treasure to museums worldwide, crediting the Gates family and Riley for the discovery and Ian's arrest in place of his own. On a tip from Ben, the FBI finds Ian in Boston, breaking into the Old North Church, and arrests him and his henchmen on the spot. Later, Ben and Abigail start a relationship, and Riley is somewhat upset that Ben turned down the 10% finder's fee for the treasure. However, the 1% he did accept has made them all wealthy. ==Cast==