When a mysterious man orchestrates an attack on archaeologist Annja Creed and then offers her an assignment, Annja is baffl ed. But the mission is too intriguing for her to refuse. She must fi nd an object that possesses a sacred and powerful secret offering atonement to anyone who uncovers it--or wreaking havoc on the world.

Stolen from an ancient order of knights, the relic is now in the clutches of a band of pirates sailing the South China Sea. When a government leader threatens to destroy the pirate ship--along with the artifact--rather than let it get into the wrong hands, Annja must decide at what cost the sacred prize should be protected. Destroying it would defi le history. But saving it could bring about apocalypse.