ABOUT
THE BOOK

A hacker gets into the Pope’s own computer, to leave a warning about a small church in Seville, which is ‘killing to defend itself’ against threatened demolition. Two people have already died in suspicious circumstances. Lorenzo Quart, a seasoned agent for the Vatican`s Information Service- forty-something, handsome, designer-suited and dedicated- is sent to investigate. As he begins to fathom the mysterious links between the church and a host of individuals who believe that their survival depends on the building`s destruction or salvation, Quart is reluctantly drawn into the heart of stiflingly hot but incurably appealing Seville. Here the flashy success of nouveau Euro-trash mixes dangerously with old money and the shabby chic of the medieval city. Among the church`s enemies are Quart`s old adversary, the Archbishop of Seville and an ambitious young banker, Pencho Gavira. But if Quart`s long experience has taught him how to deal with men like these, nothing has prepared him for the attractions of Gavira`s ex-wife, the determination of an American nun, or the stubborn anger of Father Ferro, the old priest who would rather die than see his precious church destroyed by bulldozers and the cynicism of big banks.