Christendom, 1248. Religious fervour is brewing in France and an enthusiastic young King Louis IX heralds the birth of a new crusade. But as the King makes his preparations and rallies his noblemen to his cause, an attempt on his life is made that barely fails.Who seeks to thwart the advance of the Frankish war machine to the Holy Land? A fierce and secretive branch of the Catholic church known as 'The Order of the Hand of God' sends one of its best agents to unravel the mystery.Leonardo, a warrior priest and religious fanatic is both intelligent and ruthless, and once given the command by his mentor, a Cardinal of the Papacy no less, he will stop at nothing until the culprit is discovered. Yet it soon becomes apparent that the plot runs deeper than he'd expected and uncovering the identity of the traitor will not be so easy. Leonardo's quest will take him from the backstreets of Paris to the rolling hills of Cyprus and beyond, to Outremer. He will have to fight criminal gangs, duel roguish knights, and rub shoulders with the French nobility in search of answers.Leonardo may have been given a task that puts him far out of his depth...