Synopsis / Summary / Plot
A man garbed in the outfit of a Mayan warrior climbs the girders of an unfinished New York skyscraper and trains the sights of his laser rifle on the windows of an 86th floor office in the distance. In that office, Doc Savage’s men anxiously await their leader, returning from a visit to his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic. When Doc arrives, they inform him of the recent death of his father from a mysterious illness. Doc examines his father’s papers directing him to the Central American republic of Hidalgo. At this moment the assassin fires, but his shot is deflected by the distorting glass in the windows. Determining the origin of the shot, Doc and his men head out to the construction site, where they engage in a cat-and-mouse chase with the sniper. Finally capturing him, Doc attempts to hypnotize him into revealing his motives but the Mayan resists and throws himself off the scaffolding to his death. Doc and the aides return to their headquarters to find a warning scrawled on the wall. Doc and his friends join in a vow to do everything they can to fight evil wherever they find it. In an epilogue, the sniper’s accomplice reports to their leader, the Son of the Feathered Serpent, who vows the death of Doc Savage.
Doc Savage and his aides fly into the Central American republic of Hidalgo to a warm reception: anti-aircraft fire from rebel forces. Their lives are saved by the air bags Doc had installed in the plane. They are greeted by Hidalgo’s President Carlos Avispa and Secretary of State Don Rubio Gorro who see them off on the next leg of their journey: flying into the hidden Valley of the Vanished. On landing they are attacked by a group of Mayan warriors dressed like the New York assassin. A brief fight is halted by the appearance of King Chaac and Princess Monja. Despite the dire warnings of Morning Breeze, chief warrior, King Chaac explains to Doc his father’s legacy: an unlimited supply of gold, should Doc prove himself worthy. That night Morning Breeze’s warriors kidnap Ham, Johnny, and Long Tom and hurl them to their apparent deaths in a sacrificial pit. Doc, however, had overheard their scheme and he and Renny were poised below the edge of the pit to save the victims from a grim death. The next day, Doc effects a miraculous “resurrection” and is acclaimed a wonder-working hero by the natives. Morning Breeze’s secret leader, the Son of the Feathered Serpent, orders the warrior to release the Red Death, which killed Doc’s father, into the valley’s water supply. The people blame the newcomers for their misfortune, and only Doc’s quick diagnosis and creation of an antidote changes their minds. Doc battles the Son of the Feathered Serpent atop a high temple, and it ends with the villain plunging to his death. He is unmasked as Don Rubio Gorro, Hidalgo’s Secretary of State, who coveted the natives’ gold for himself. King Chaac declares that Doc has proved himself worthy of their gold, and Doc heads back to civilization to pursue his crusade against evil, to the dismay of Princess Monja.