While Donald is flipping through some books in Uncle Scrooge's library, a treasure map from King Garuzia, the old-time ruler of the Great Duck kingdom, falls out. It leads to the king's most prized possession. Donald thinks this is his path to riches. Unfortunately, Pete overhears and pursues Donald throughout the game hoping to steal the treasure.

Donald, using a partial map from the library, travels to a variety of places around the world seeking clues to find the treasure, including Duckburg and Mexico. After defeating Count Dracula in Transylvania, Donald receives a more complete map pointing to the Maharajah in India, Egypt, a haunted Viking ship, and finally the South Pole, where Donald finds an ancient Viking diary said to reveal the location of the treasure. However, upon finding the diary, Pete shows up, holding Donald's nephews hostage in exchange for the diary. After giving Pete the diary, Donald travels to Pete's hideout to defeat Pete and get the diary back. The diary reveals that if the map is dipped in water, it will reveal the location of the Great Duck Treasure.