In Munich, Benjamin Stern is shot in his flat by a mysterious gunman who murmurs a few words of Latin before gathering the writer's papers and leaving. In Venice, art restorer and Mossad agent Gabriel Allon is summoned from his work by a boy with a piece of paper. In Vatican City, the pope known as Paul VII--"Pope Accidental" to his detractors--paces in his garden, thinking about the things he knows and the enemies he will make. He believes he understands why God has chosen him for this job, but the road in front of him is hard and perilous. In the weeks to come, the journeys of all these men will come together, following a trail of long-buried secrets and unthinkable deeds, leaving each one forever changed.