Tintin finds himself involved in a mystery related to a drowned man, a can of crabmeat and a ship called Karaboudjan. After investigating the ship, Tintin discovers that the shipment of cans does not contain exactly crabmeat.
Tintin and his friends investigate when something ominous haunts seven archaeologists, just after their return from an ethnographic expedition to the Andes, where they have dug up the tomb of Inca Rascar Capac.
Tintin buys an old model ship at a flea market as a gift for Captain Haddock, who tells him about the exploits of a famous ancestor related to it. Then, Tintin learns that it is not an ordinary model ship.
While on vacation in Egypt, Tintin encounters an eccentric archaeologist who believes to have found the whereabouts of Pharaoh Kih-Oskh's tomb. There Tintin finds a cigar marked with a strange emblem.