SUMMARY: In the darkness of 13th Century Europe, the most precious treasures of the Christian world lie in a small church in the great ruined city of Constantinople: the crown of thorns, the spear that pierced Jesus' side, the shroud bearing the imprint of Christ.On the other side of the globe, Petroc of Auneford sails into the sprawling Pool of London for the first time. He has left his old monastic world behind for that of the enigmatic Captain de Montalhac - purveyor of fine relics and other exotic trinkets to anyone with sufficient money and desire.For Petroc, the trip is soon blighted by tragedy, but grief is no guard against greed or rumour. The great powers of Christendom are gathering - all covet the power of the most precious relics - and Petroc finds himself right in the eye of the storm.

SUMMARY:England, 1235, and Brother Petroc is living a simple life as a novice monk. Struggling to keep his soul fairly clean and worrying most about resisting the local girls, he inadvertently stumbles headlong into vicious trap. Framed by a sinister Templar Knight for a brutal murder of a church official and accused of the theft of a priceless relic, he is forced to run for his life. But when his best friend Will is killed by the chasing knight, Petroc's flight becomes a quest for restitution.Trusting his fate to an enigmatic relic-hunter and scoundrel, he must dodge the long arm of the church and somehow get to the bottom of everything that has happened to him. He must find out how his fate is entwined with that of the sacred object and get revenge on the man who wrecked his life - all the while avoiding the pitfalls and perils of love for a beautiful Greek princess...