Buried deep within a secret chamber, inside a remote Indian palace, is a mysterious manuscript that has remained hidden for centuries. One man must follow a trail of clues into an ancient and perilous world in the hopes it will lead him to the "Text of Akbar"-and finding the person responsible for the murder of his friend, Oxford professor Paul Ross. Dalton Scott sets out from Italy on a dangerous assignment to the far reaches of an Indian desert where he confronts a fractious group of international scholars, a lissome beauty from Copenhagen, a ruthless private security firm, and the elusive "Omar"-the last person Dr. Ross met after he translated pieces of the Text sent to him by an anonymous source. Dalton learns that Dr. Ross' translation of the Text fragments revealed a sacred and extraordinary link to the past, which could threaten the very foundation of the Christian faith. But before Dalton can uncover the truth behind the "Text of Akbar," he must be the first to solve the mystery of Dr. Ross's murder, while trying to survive in a palace of easy death.