The Spider in the Laurel

In Tomorrow's America, Belief is the New Enemy. Even a Silent Prayer can get you Black-Bagged.

Historian Rafael Ward is a good citizen, teaching students the government approved narrative of the nation's history. Until the black-baggers come calling. They have a job for him, one he's not allowed to refuse: Ward must go undercover as a Believer and smuggler to hunt down and destroy the artifacts he cherishes. Before he knows it, he's following fugitive Hannah MacKenzie on a fool's quest to recover the legendary Vase of Soissons, a Dark Age relic prophesized to restore faith to the world.

Soon, however, Ward is betrayed by the Republic he's trying to serve. His only chance to save himself is to come clean with MacKenzie and, together, find the Vase first. Pursued through the cathedrals and catacombs of Europe, Ward and MacKenzie must battle their mistrust of each other to stay alive. Only when they are within reach of their goal do they discover the Vase is not what they thought. With more than just their lives on the line, Ward and MacKenzie must choose between each other and the Vase, between belief and salvation.

"A fascinating dystopian tale from one of speculative fiction's rising stars" (C.T. Phipps, author of Lucifer's Star)