The boisterous, arrogant professor Challenger, a reputed biologist and anthropologist, dares the London Zoological Society to mount an expedition to verify his spectacular claim, without physical proof, that his previous expedition to the Amazonian basin found live dinosaurs. Apart from him and his 'socialite' counterpart, professor Summerlee, it consists of experienced discoverer Lord Roxbury, the young reporter Ed Malone -who got publicly struck down with Challenger's umbrella at his arrival- and Jennifer Holmes, Malone's news agency's boss's daughter, essentially as conditions for putting up the money. In Brazil they are joined by Jennifer's brother David and local 'guide' Manuel Gomez. They soon discover the dinosaurs are real and dangerous, like giant spiders, but loose their helicopter and thus are desperate for a way down from the isolated plateau. They learn Roxbury knew about the fate of Burton White, an explorer whose diary they find, thus presume to be dead, in search of diamonds, and confirmation of the local tribe being the lethal guardians of the plateau's secrets, but also get surprising help...
故事发生在一所大使馆中,在小男孩菲利普(Bobby Henrey 饰)的眼中,管家班尼思(拉尔夫·理查德森 Ralph Richardson 饰)是如假包换的英雄。这其中的原委要追溯到菲利普经常外出的父母身上,父母不在,照顾和看管菲利普的责任自然就落到了班尼思的身上,在菲利普这样一个敏感又单纯的年纪,一个替他打点一切事宜的人就等同于无所不能的英雄。
可班尼思真的如同菲利普所认为的那样正直和勇敢吗?当然不是,他不过是一个再普通不过的成年人罢了。尽管已有家室,但班尼思还是和一个名叫朱莉(米歇尔·摩根 Michèle Morgan 饰)的年轻女子保持着暧昧关系,甚至趁菲利普的父母不在家时偷偷将朱莉带到大使馆幽会。没想到,一次意外夺走了班尼斯夫人的生命,而这一单纯的事故在菲利普看来,却是一场蓄意已久的谋杀。
老教授爱德华·乔斯顿(比利·康诺利 Billy Connolly 饰)是一名致力于中世纪考古的历史学家,而发掘14世纪遗留下的拉洛克城堡一直是他的毕生心愿,然而直到今天,一家国际科技公司的总裁罗伯特(大卫•休里斯 David Thewlis 饰)愿意投资该项目,乔斯特的愿望才终于得以实现,他便马不停蹄地与儿子克里斯(保罗·沃克 Paul Walker 饰)一起组建了考古小组准备前往法国,探寻当年的古战场。然而考古小组成员在一次很平常的挖掘中,发现了一张1357年的求救纸条,署名竟然是乔斯顿教授,附近还发现了教授的眼镜,但距今已600多年。百思不得其解的组员们找到投资人罗伯特,方知野心勃勃的罗伯特竟秘密发明了一架时光机器,能穿越虫洞将人送回到1357年。面对着这个可怕而神奇的工具,克里斯决定带领成员一同重返中世纪,拯救父亲。然而他们谁也无从预测,在虫洞的另一头等待着他们的会是什么…… 本片改编自美国作家迈克尔·克莱顿(Michael Crichton)的同名小说。