In 323 B.C.E, having conquered Persia, Alexander the Great
set his sights on Arabia, then suddenly succumbed to a
strange fever. Locating his final resting place–unknown to
this day–remains a tantalizing goal for both
archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for
this coveted prize is about to heat up. And Cotton Malone–
former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book
dealer–will be drawn into an intense geopolitical chess
game.
After narrowly escaping incineration in a devastating fire
that consumes a Danish museum, Cotton learns from his
friend, the beguiling adventurer Cassiopeia Vitt, that the
blaze was neither an accident nor an isolated incident. As
part of campaign of arson intended to mask a far more
diabolical design, buildings across Europe are being
devoured by infernos of unnatural strength.
And from the ashes of the U.S.S.R., a new nation has
arisen: Former Soviet republics have consolidated into the
Central Asian Federation. At its helm is Supreme Minister
Irina Zovastina, a cunning despot with a talent for
politics, a taste for blood sport, and the single-minded
desire to surpass Alexander the Great as history’s
ultimate conqueror.
Backed by a secret cabal of powerbrokers, the Federation
has amassed a harrowing arsenal of biological weapons.
Equipped with the hellish power to decimate other nations
at will, only one thing keeps Zovastina from setting in
motion her death march of domination: a miraculous healing
serum, kept secret by an ancient puzzle and buried with
the mummified remains of Alexander the Great–in a tomb
lost to the ages for more than 1,500 years.
Together, Cotton and Cassiopeiamust outrun and outthink
the forces allied against them. Their perilous quest will
take them to the shores of Denmark, deep into the
venerated monuments of Venice, and finally high inside the
desolate Pamir mountains of Central Asia to unravel a
riddle whose solution could destroy or save millions of
people–depending on who finds the lost tomb first.
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