A fourteen hundred year old cover-up...

All who threaten this secret die...

A race through the Middle East to uncover evidence buried in plain sight... Cultures clash and emotions soar as Arab researcher Mohammed Atareek and American professor Angela Hall race away from death towards discovery. Will they succeed in their journey to expose the truth, or will the opposition terminate them first? On display within the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul lies the Topkapi Codex--an ancient manuscript of the Koran involved in the murder that split Shiite from Sunni. What's the truth about the Topkapi Codex? Is there blood on it? Are its contents the same as the modern Koran's? No one knows because the Topkapi Codex is off limits to research. Mohammed Atareek is obsessed with getting his hands on this mysterious manuscript. His research has convinced him that the Koran has been changed many times, and the text of the famous codex could prove it. But other scholars are turning up dead. Did they share his conviction? Should he expose himself to their risk? Angela, a UC Berkeley English professor, married money and kept it; but lost the marriage, most of her family, and a friend under traumatic circumstances. On top of that, she makes a career move that puts her in the Middle East and in Mohammed's path. His overconfident, witty, and impulsive personality is both puzzling and refreshing to Angela. But when Mohammed tries to engage her in his quest, he finds she has an agenda of her own. Cat and mouse games, heated discussions, and sparks of romance inevitably ensue. Based on solid historical research, this exciting debut novel features a page-turning plot, a startling conclusion, and many eye-opening facts about the origins of the Koran.