The briefcase is first discovered in a vault and stolen by two hit men. When they are killed, a junkie takes it from the crime scene, only to lose it when he's killed. It then moves into the hands of a woman, who dies after the briefcase is stolen from her apartment. But the Peeping-Tom landlord who stole it from her is also soon dead, with his son then taking possession of it. Carrying the briefcase with him to confront his cheating wife, that man commits murder/suicide with his young daughter in the room.

Simply called the Relic of Death by the Keepers responsible for it, no one knows where it came from or its age. It's believed to have been around forever, disguising its form through the years, driving people insane and then killing them. And the relic cannot be lost or destroyed in any way. Joel, the current Keeper, must find the briefcase and secure it again in the vault -- or it will continue to kill. Using the special ring made solely for the purpose of locating the relic, Joel follows its path since leaving the vault. At the end, he stops a young girl just as she's about to open the briefcase after witnessing the deaths of her parents. Taking her with him to protect her, Joel soon realizes he's found the person who he'll train as the next Keeper of the Relic of Death.

RELIC OF DEATH by David Bernstein is dark fiction at its best with an exciting, powerful plot. It's a fast read and totally satisfying, first page to last.