MacGyver puts up Penny Parker for a few days while she's looking for a job as a singing telegram. But on her first day, she happens to witness two thugs torturing a man. Unfortunately, she can't find her way back, and when she does, MacGyver thinks this may be the start of something bigger as the victim is a Federal agent.

While on an expedition to find a Spanish treasure fleet, Dr. Barbara Ortega's boat is hi-jacked by modern-day pirates. They steal the small amount of treasure that she has already found - including the ship's log, which is the key to finding the whole fleet - and take off. When she makes it public that she was hi-jacked, the Phoenix Foundation sends MacGyver to help. Now, MacGyver and Barbara must recover the ship's log, so she can find the treasure before the pirates do.