The Order

LEGENDARY SPY AND ART RESTORER GABRIEL ALLON IS ENJOYING A HOLIDAY IN VENICE WHEN HE IS URGENTLY SUMMONED TO ROME - POPE PAUL VII HAS DIED.

A billion Catholic faithful have been told that the Holy Father had a heart attack, but his loyal private secretary has good reason to suspect he was murdered.

And curiously, the letter the Holy Father was writing during the final hours of his life is missing. A letter that was addressed to his old friend, Gabriel:

While researching in the Vatican Secret Archives, I came upon a most remarkable book...

The book is a long-suppressed gospel that calls into guestion the accuracy of the New Testament's depiction of one of the most portentous events in human history. For that reason alone, the Order of St. Helena will stop at nothing to keep it out of Gabriel's hands.

A shadowy Catholic society, the Order is plotting to seize control of the papacy. And it is only the beginning...