The multi-million dollar Phoenix, prototype for a revolutionary new car, disappears from a non-stop train en route to Boston - flat-car included. Banacek is called in to find the missing vehicle before a huge insurance claim must be paid.

A golden cross, on its way from a Mexican church to an American gangster anxious to reform his image, turns into worthless junk without ever leaving the possession of the couriers sent to deliver it. Banacek must figure out where and how the switch was pulled off.