It is the spring of 1241. The Mongol takeover of Europe is almost complete. The hordes commanded by the sons of Genghis Khan have swept out of their immense grassy plains and ravaged Russia, Poland, and Hungary ... and now seem poised to sweep west to Paris and south to Rome. King and Pope and peasant alike face a bleak future--until a small band of warriors, inheritors of a millennium-old secret tradition, conceive of a desperate plan to kill the Khan of Khans.

Their leader, an elder of the order of warrior monks, will lead his elite group on a perilous journey into the East. They will be guided by an elusive and sharp-witted young woman, who believes the master's plan is insane. But this small band is the West's last, best hope to turn back the floodtide of the Mongol Empire.