Jim Hawkins is a confident young college student at Brigham Young University trying to re-win the affections of Renae Fennimore. However, during a trip back home for Thanksgiving, he discovers his family is under threat from a mysterious group of Native Americans who don’t know what police are. With his sister Jenny, he makes the acquaintance of Muleki, another Native American present, and discovers that the others - Nephite robbers dubbed Gadiantons - are time travelers from Teancum’s era who have come seeking a sword stolen from them and brought to this time. However, as Jim blabbed about his adventures and had his memories taken away, he doesn’t remember immediately and can only remember the sword from a traffic accident he came across, when it was taken into police custody.
Discovering it was stolen, Jim follows the trail back to an address in Utah and resolves to steal it back. However, Muleki - who was accompanying him to retrieve the sword and take it back to Nephite times to be destroyed - is gravely wounded when he, Jim, Renae, and Jenny are accosted by the Gadiantons, and he demands that Jim destroy it himself since he is unable. Having stolen the sword back and told Garth, Jim is overwhelmed, but happy to discover that they can take the sword to its designated place of destruction in the modern day instead of the ancient. Since this will involve going to Mexico, Jim and Garth set out to make a road trip, but find Renae and Jenny forcing them to let them come along, which is all right because Renae speaks Spanish already and has friends in South Mexico.
The four travel but are pursued by Gadiantons, who recruit local criminals to help them. While in Mexico, Jim finds himself falling under the spell of the sword, even using its power to win a car chase against the Gadiantons. Garth reprimands him for this, but soon after, he and the girls are kidnapped when they leave their hotel briefly. Jim is offered two of their lives if he gives the sword back, but manages to outsmart the hostage takers and retrieve the girls while keeping the sword. The three crash at the home of Renae’s friends in Santiago Tuxtla, but Jim leaves the girls behind and proceeds to the hill alone, convinced Garth is dead and no longer willing to take risks with their lives. However, he discovers Garth is alive (the villains lied)and went to the hill to wait for him, but this soon matters little, as the cop Jim stole the sword back from attacks them and Garth’s leg is broken in the struggle.
Jim ascends the hill with help from a local, but is ambushed near the top (where Ether’s Coffer is located) by the waiting Gadiantons. However, just before he’s killed the local returns with help and scatter their forces, the villain even being killed by accidentally linking a power cable. However, Jim cannot find the Coffer and is convinced it was destroyed by the local power station. But then has a vision of a man ushering him through the forest (the same one he had in the very first chapter), and discovers the right spot. The sword protests with all of its power, but fails and turns to dust.
Exhausted, Jim returns to Tuxtla with Garth and reunites with Renae, promising not to leave her again. And some months later, a persistent Garth is finally able to convince Jenny to say yes too. Jim and Renae honeymoon in one of the hotels they stayed in on their journey, and all’s well that ends well. At least for now...
