In Burgundy, France, in 1926, a famed archaeologist dies a terrible death in a country not his own....Thus begins CWA Historical Dagger Award winner Barbara Cleverly's dazzling new mystery novel. And soon aspiring archaeologist Laetitia Talbot will find herself embroiled in a murderous conspiracy centuries in the making. Letty's joy at snaring a place in the excavation of an ancient church in Burgundy is dimmed by the tragedy of her godfather Daniel's violent death. But when Letty receives a posthumous encoded message, she begins to believe that Daniel's death was not a random act. Her investigation into Daniel's murder sends her on a journey into a country's remote history...into the orbit of a privileged French family harboring its own damning secret...into ancient Celtic mysteries and one sacred truth kept through the ages. It is an explosive revelation that could rock modern Christianity--and force a killer out of the shadows as a country devastated by one war lays the groundwork for another....From the Trade Paperback edition.