The certainties of modern life are about to be shattered by an ancient conspiracy that has been nurtured by blood and lies. A man climbs a cliff face in the oldest inhabited place on earth, a mountain known as the Citadel, a Vatican-like city-state that towers above the city of Ruin in contemporary Turkey. But this is no ordinary ascent. It is a dangerous, symbolic act. And thanks to the media, it is witnessed by the entire world. And few people understand its consequence. For foundation worker Kathryn Mann and a handful of others, it’s evidence that a hopeful, new beginning is at hand. For the cowled and secretive monks that live inside the Citadel, it could mean the end of everything they have built—and they will break every law in every country and even kill to stop it. For Liv Adamsen, a New York reporter, it spurs the memory of the beloved brother she has lost and begins the next stage of a journey into the heart of her own identity. At that journey’s end lies a discovery that will change everything.