In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, James Rollins, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sigma Force series, takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.

Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu -- the staff of Jesus Christ -- a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president.

Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.

For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions? And the danger is only beginning...

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries...a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:

Could you live forever?

Would you live forever?

Galilee, 1025: A Templar knight uncoversa holy treasure in an ancient citadel--a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power.

A millennium later, Commander Gray Pierce of Sigma Force is dispatched to the African jungle, teaming up with former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane, on a covert mission to rescue the U.S. President's pregnant daughter from Somali pirates. But Pierce fears the kidnapping masks a far more terrible terrorist agenda--a suspicion proven true in a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal . . . and by the firebombing of a South Carolina fertility clinic half a world away.

Suddenly Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are in a frantic race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity. And behind it all is a deadly cabal that has been manipulating events from the shadows throughout history . . . and a devastating conspiracy rooted in human genetic code that Pierce must expose before it alters humanity forever.