 Henrik Durvard, who has seized absolute power of a small African nation, plans to sell a recently discovered diamond. The diamond is 27,000 carats and is worth $30 million. Durvard intends to sell the diamond and use the proceeds to financing taking over other independent tribal areas. Briggs & Co. initiate an elaborate con which to take away the diamond. Among things, the plan calls for convincing Durvard that Briggs has found a way to synthetically duplicate diamonds.