In this extraordinary thriller rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny July In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne Alice a volunteer at an archaeological dig stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons strange writings on the walls and the pattern of a labyrinth between the skeletons a stone ring and a small leather bag Eight hundred years earlier on the eve of a brutal crusade to stamp out heresy that will rip apart southern France Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father as he leaves to fight the crusaders The book he says contains the secret of the true Grail and the ring inscribed with a labyrinth will identify a guardian of the Grail As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of northern France gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne it will take great sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe In the present another woman sees the find as a means to the political power she craves while a man who has great power will kill to destroy all traces of the discovery and everyone who stands in his way.
