At a conference in Paris, American literary scholar Joe Conrad is approached by Jacques Durran, who claims to have Hemingway's lost first novel. He wants Joe to authenticate the manuscript, which could be worth millions. Joe consults two other Hemingway scholars, the arrogant but brilliant Franklin Reynolds and the beautiful, independent Alexis Price. While Joe is in possession of the Hemingway papers, his daughter is kidnapped and held as ransom...