"The Pope is dead. Behind locked doors of the Sistine chapel, 118 cardinals from around the world will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men, but they are men of the world, and they have rivals. And over the next seventy-two hours one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth."--Dust jacket.

"September 1943: German forces occupy Rome. Gestapo boss Obersturmbannf

"A deadly race for the Vatican's oldest secret fuels New York Times bestseller Steve Berry's latest international Cotton Malone thriller. The pope is dead. A conclave to select his replacement is about to begin. Cardinals are beginning to arrive at the Vatican, but one has fled Rome for Malta in search of a document that dates back to the 4th century and Constantine the Great. Former Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, is at Lake Como, Italy,...

"Responding to an urgent summons from the Vatican, Harvard professor of religion and archaeology, Cal Donovan, flies to Italy to interview a young priest who has developed the stigmata of the crucifixion. Stunned to discover that the priest's condition may be genuine, Cal determines to uncover the cause of the mysterious wounds. But Cal is not the only one. When Giovanni is kidnapped from his church at dead of night, Cal comes to realize that the...