The story of the search and discovery of the treasure wreck--Nuestra Senora de Atocha.

Presents background information about the sinking of the Spanish galleon, Atocha, in 1622 and describes efforts to locate the wreck and successfully salvage its treasure more than 300 years later.

"In real life-especially off the Florida coast-things can have fatal consequences. Fatal Treasure is a truly compelling read." -Aphrodite Jones, New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Sacrifice and All She Wanted In 1622, hundreds of people lost their lives to the curse of the Spanish galleon Atocha-and they would not be the last. Fatal Treasure combines the rousing adventure of Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea with the compelling characters and local color of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It tells the powerful true story of the relentless quest to find the Atocha and reclaim her priceless treasures from the sea. You'll follow Mel Fisher, his family, and their intrepid team of treasure hunters as they dive beneath the treacherous waters of the Florida Straits and scour the ocean floor in search of gold, silver, and emeralds. And you'll discover that nearly four centuries after the shipwreck, the curse of the Atocha is still a deadly force. "On this day, the sea once again relinquished its hold on the riches and glory of seventeenth-century Spain. And by the grace of God, I would share the moment of glory . . . . I was reaching for my eighth emerald, another big one, when the invisible hands squeezed my trachea. In desperation, I clutched at my throat to pry away the enemy's fingers. But no one had hold of me." -From the Prologue

A rotting hull of a ship...lost gold...coins...gems...Sunken Treasure! Today treasure hunting is a big business. Searchers use metal detectors and sonar to locate treasure on the ocean floor. Divers use high-powered machinery to uncover objects buried in the sand and to raise them to the surface. And more than just treasures are discovered. A whole window into the past is opened up. A salvage can take months or even years. But it's worth it!

Mel Fisher was known as "The World's Greatest Treasure Hunter." He and his family established the Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum located in Sebastian, Florida and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. In addition to being a showcase for newly-found treasure, the Maritime Museum is a nationally recognized research and archaeology institution. And although Mel passed away in 1998, today this legend lives on in his son, Kim Fisher. For the past 25 years, Kim and his wife Lee continued the quest for treasure through their family business, Mel Fisher's Treasures. Here is a fascinating look inside the business and personal lives of the most famous treasure hunting family of all times. Mel Fisher's discovery of the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, and its over $400 million treasure, off the Florida Keys made Mel and his family worldwide celebrities. Through the National Geographic DVD exclusive, Atocha Quest for Treasure, the National Geographic Explorer series, "Quest for the Atocha" (Season 2, Episode 16), a spot on The Johnny Carson Show, six books, a feature film, and intensive ongoing press coverage, the Atocha's fame has been established over the past three decades spanning multiple generations. Even today the search for the Atocha sterncastle continues. The find of a single chest of Muzo emeralds purported to be contents of the Atocha sterncastle alone would raise her bounty into the billions. Is it any wonder why 30 years later the search continues? As a leader in the field of oceanic survey technology, confidence is high that Mel Fisher's Treasures will continue the tradition of discovering untold riches from beneath the sea. Treasure hunters have a different genome than most of their fellow human beings. They are programmed to "go where no one has gone before." They possess an indomitable drive to explore and to solve mysteries. They are risk takers extraordinaire. For Love and Treasure is about such individuals who lead a legendary treasure salvage company into the ocean depths of the next great discovery. Meeting these unique characters on the page is a kind of treasure, too.

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