I'm a Ghost

Season

1

Episode

1

Writer

Marianne Wibberley & Cormac Wibberley

Director

Mira Nair

Episode guide
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The Treasure Map

I'm a Ghost is the first episode of the Disney+ American Adventure, action and mystery National Treasure: Edge of History series based on the film series. It aired on December 14, 2022 alongside the other episode "The Treasure Map" and is the series premiere.

Premise[]

22-year-old Jess Valenzuela’s life is turned upside down when she meets a mysterious stranger who holds a clue to an ancient treasure linked to her long- dead father. With the help of her friend Tasha, Jess uses her knack for puzzle-solving to try and crack the clue. But they both soon realize they’re in way over their heads when Billie—a ruthless black-market antiquities dealer—joins the hunt.^[1]

Plot summary[]

It's 2001 and Peter Sadusky is alone in his office recounting the tale of the hidden treasure of Montezuma. As Hernán Cortés and his band of conquistadors invaded America attacking the Maya, Aztec Empire, and Inca, the grand treasure of the three civilizations had been secreted out by an group of women protectors and hidden from the conquering Europeans.

At the same time as Sadusky recounts his knowledge, in Mexico City, a treasure hunter named Rafael dressed as a nun, has found one of the clues to the hidden treasure. Worried about double crossing the mysterious man named Salazar, there is a fight with Salazar’s goons, and Rafael makes it home to help his wife and infant daughter escape the onslaught of Salazar and his goons.

Rafael stays behind to buy time for his wife and daughter to get out alive, and as they are driving away, Rafael's wife sees her home be engulfed in flames. Seemingly confirming that Rafael has died. She then looks at her infant daughter, and tell her to not grow up to be like her dad.

In present day Baton Rouge, Jess with her friends Tasha, Oren, and Ethan are participating in an escape room. With their talents, they successfully escape when no other team has.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Billie Pearce is making her way through a new villa that she bought in Madrid, Spain. When asked why she bought another home, Billie is clear with her intentions. She believes that there are hidden relics that are related to an ancient treasure that was hidden from Cortés when he came to the new world. Not wasting any time, Billie smashes through a painting to find a hidden room, and multiple artifacts as well.

Back in Baton Rouge, it turns out, that some time back, Jess' mother died, and now Jess works at Almighty Storage, a local storage locker facility trying to get by. When her boss tasks her with identifying the owner of an abandoned storage unit, Jess uses items from the storage locker to track down Peter Sadusky. The flag in the locker belonged to Jack Sadusky, Peter's deceased son, and as they begin to talk, Peter compliments Jess on her ability to track him down. He tells her that she reminds him of another person he used to know.

Jess' necklace is visible and Peter proceeds to tell her that the necklace bears the symbol of a group of treasure protectors. As Jess explains that the medallion is the only thing she has left of her father, Peter tells her that the medallion would have only been given to someone who was a part of the treasure protectors.

Before leaving the Sadusky home, Peter gives Jess a clue into finding a relic related to the lost treasure. It's an envelope which Jess refuses to take, but when she arrives home, she sees that Peter has slipped the envelope in her bag. Addressed to his grandson Liam Sadusky, and Jess is unsure how to proceed.

Meanwhile, Billie Pearce has been keeping an eye on Peter Sadusky. Seeing through her surveillance that Jess spent some time inside the home, she decides to follow up on the newcomer to the treasure hunt. At the storage locker facility, fake 'FBI' agents show up to question Jess and inform her that Peter Sadusky has died. While the agents are intimidating and threatening, Jess tells them nothing, and they leave her alone.

Billie wonders about Jess, and whether or not she lied to her fake FBI goons. With the sword of Cortés in her hands, the blonde woman has a hunch that there is more to this unknown girl than meets the eye. Billie has Jess' apartment ransacked, fearing the box of items from the Sadusky locker is lost, Jess is relieved to see that Oren had the box and brings it back. As a result, Jess decides to go look for Peter's grandson.

Later, Jess and Tasha talk to Liam, only to find out that there was bad blood between grandfather and grandson. He refuses to take the envelope and doesn't care what may be inside. He has not thought for a moment about Montezuma's Treasure, except that it is a fools errand that cost his father his life.

Back at the apartment, Jess opens the letter and sees the hidden clues in a picture of Peter, Liam and his father Jack. Enlisting the help of Tasha, they sneak into the King's Arms Lodge building, and find an ancient relic that is part of a clue to the lost treasure of Mesoamerica.

Knowing that Jess poses a threat to Billie's success, she calls the young treasure hunter and offers to pay any price named. Jess is noble in her response and says no. Billie, however ups the stakes and informs Jess that she has captured Oren.

Elsewhere, a bearded man, is pasting another picture of the symbol that is found on Jess' medallion, on his prison cell wall.

Cast and characters[]

Starring[]

Special Guest Star[]

Harvey Keitel as Peter Sadusky

Guest-starring:[]

Co-starring:[]

Ben Taylor as Stan
Derek Evans as Tall Brit / Sebastian
Nic Starr as Mason
Shane Partlow as Maître d'
Curtis Lyons as Bus Driver
Dimitrius Pulido as Prisoner
Alexis Capozzi as Assistant
Briza Covarrubias as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #1
Joanna DeLane as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #2
Rose Cordova as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #3
Cinthya Rey as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #4
Jailyn Rae as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #5
Nina Garcia as Daughter of the Plumed Serpent #6

Trivia[]

Benjamin Franklin Gates is neither seen nor is his name spoken in this episode, but he is indirectly referenced.
- First when Jess seeks out Peter Sadusky, the same FBI agent who apprehended and later befriended Gates in the National Treasure Franchise.
- Later, Sadusky is impressed by Jess' proficiency with puzzles and determination, and he notes that he "knows somebody" like her, meaning Gates without outright saying his name.
- Peter then directly quotes Gates when he says, "I've known men like him. Men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right".
Peter Sadusky is mistakenly called 87 years old in both this episode and "Bad Romance". But that conflicts with his revealed birth-date of August 11, 1938 from the episode "Charlotte", as the events of the series take place in 2022 as revealed on Sadusky's autopsy result in episode "Graceland Gambit", which would make him 84 at the time of his death instead.
President of US is hinted to be Joe Biden on the fake FBI badges^[2], in the mid-credit shots in Season 1 finale Jess is shown meeting the President who now is a woman.^[3]