A mysterious forger. A plot to empty the world's museums. Can this champion of culture stop it before all our history is fake?

A forensic audit at the Vatican Museum reveals looting on a grand scale. A corrupt antiquities dealer has been plundering Europe's institutions—replacing priceless originals with copies.

Darwin Lacroix, the Pope's new Director of Special Archaeological Investigations, is repulsed by self-serving curators, profit-hungry auction houses, and secretive government Freeports. But he cannot stem the loss of artistic heritage. Until a sale goes wrong.

When a Marseilles art gang calls in a loan, the dealer snares Darwin into stealing a cherished Etruscan vase to cover it. His reputation in tatters, Darwin sets his own trap, but a mole in his team discovers the ruse and triggers a kidnapping. As threats escalate, he chases clues across Europe, the American Southwest, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Ultimately, he must choose between stopping the pillaging or saving his friend.