"You have something I want. You're the only person on earth who knows where to find it. Go get it. You have 72 hours. If I don't hear from you, you will be childless." Cotton Malone's teenage son has been kidnapped, and an anonymous e-mail from those responsible proves they will stop at nothing to get their hands on a coveted prize: the legendary lost Library of Alexandria, which vanished fifteen hundred years ago, its untold secrets rumored to hold the key to ultimate power. Pursued by a lethal mercenary, Malone crosses the globe in search of this vast bounty of wisdom. His quest will lead him to England and Portugal, even to the highest levels of American government-and the shattering outcome, deep in the Sinai desert, will have worldwide repercussions.