A cardinal is brutally murdered in his own church. Another is slain in the Vatican. A clue - the black imprint of a clenched fist - is left at the scene of each crime. Who's behind these sinister attacks? And is the ultimate target the Holy Office of the Pope himself?

On a detective's trail from Detroit to Dublin to Rome. Father Koesler, the sleuthing priest, plunges back into his own haunted past - and becomes an unholy candidate for assassination.