Eight hundred years ago a Crusader in the Holy Land discovered a gold box. Under a veil of secrecy it was transported to England and hidden, the clues to its whereabouts embedded in sixteen cryptic lines of verse. For centuries it has been rumoured the treasure was none other than the Ark of the Covenant . . . And now, after a brutal murder in Washington and the theft of an ancient relic known as the Stones of Fire, there's a desperate need to find out whether the rumours are true. For the Stones of Fire was Moses' breastplate, supposedly worn to protect him from the Ark of the Covenant and if - as it seems - a sinister army of mercenaries has masterminded the theft, it's only a matter of time before they use the Ark to wage war on a terrifying and devastating scale. The Ark of the Covenant must be found. The safety of the world depends upon it.