When reporter Lynn Fitzgerald runs a computer search to find the six greatest scientists of the twentieth century, an intriguing and unexpected name turns up. Joshua Benson was a rising star in the new science of genetics and cloning, until his sudden defection to Russia. With the help of 'Billy the Hack', and the CIA archives, Benson is traced to Turin prior to his defection. Lynn discovers that during his mysterious stay in the city, the cathedral was robbed of two items. The first was a gem encrusted crucifix, while the second was a fragment of cloth from the Turin Shroud - believed by worshipers to be the burial shroud of Christ - a fragment bearing the blood of the man it once draped. And now in Moscow, nearly 30 years after the cathedral's desecration, there are strange reports of a man with compelling powers of persuasion, leading the people to revolution.