The first film in the National Treasure franchise, National Treasure stars Nicholas Cage as Benjamin Franklin Gates, a historian who discovers the map to a lost treasure hoard, hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence. With the help of his friends Riley Poole and Abigail Chase, Gates embarks on a mission to steal the Declaration and locate the treasure before his former friend and crime boss Ian Howe can find it first. Along with Cage, the film stars Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, and Sean Bean.