The news agencies around the world echoed the story: a group of thieves that had broken into the basilica tried to force open the casket containing the remains of Saint Mark, one of the four evangelists.

The chief police inspector of Venice, Marco Sforza, and inspector Benzoni are in charge of an investigation that, as it proceeds, becomes increasingly complicated and takes us to different settings in Italy, France, England, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece and a monastic community in Mount Athos.

The «Echelon» network, a sophisticated system of spies and informants created during the cold war; the long-reaching shadow of the Vatican;political schemes and the politicians’ secret dealings with the press; the participation of Interpol; and the latest technological advances are the elements of this novel of political intrigue. With Europe’s nationalist disputes as a tragic backdrop, it imagines a denouement in which another armed conflict in the Balkans seems possible.