John Book wants to become a theology professor. He is working as a translator on a major project at Graf University Divinity School when a newly-discovered, ancient manuscript threatens to shake traditional Christian theology to its foundation. Book's fluency in Syriac should be helpful in determining the fragment's authenticity. But why is he so tormented by shadows from his past? And who is stalking him with murderous intent? Although most of us have lives very different from the central character of this story, the underlying struggles that he deals with are ones we all confront on some level.