The Sanctuary — Raymond Khoury

PORTUGAL, 1705. In the dungeons of a Templar castle, a dying old man bequeaths an ancient half-burned book to his young inquisitor. Keeping one step ahead of those who would kill to wrench the book's secret from his hands, the inquisitor turns his back on his calling and sets off on an impossible journey to complete the old man's quest.

BAGHDAD, 2003. Hunting for a mysterious bioweapons scientist, an army unit discovers a concealed state-of-the-art lab where gruesome experiments have been carried out on men, women, and children. The scientist escapes, but a puzzling clue is left behind: a circular symbol of a snake feeding on its own tail.

As the power of the symbol comes to light, revealing centuries of destruction left in its wake, one unsuspecting woman stands at the center of a conspiracy that could change the world forever....