First published 1995
Father Ben Driskill receives a phone call that changes everything. His sister Val has been murdered outside a Minneapolis church, and the police have few leads. Ben abandons his comfortable academic life to hunt for answers, but his investigation pulls him into a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the Vatican. Ancient documents surface that could destroy the Church's authority. Powerful cardinals will kill to protect two thousand years of carefully guarded secrets. Ben discovers that Val died because she learned too much about a cover-up spanning decades. As he follows her trail, he realizes the same forces that killed his sister now want him dead. The Church he has served his entire life becomes his enemy. Ben must choose between his faith and the truth, knowing that either choice will cost him everything he holds sacred.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy, faith-vs-truth
Setting: Minneapolis, Vatican
Period: contemporary
467 pages · Hardcover · Bantam
Content warnings: violence