For 2,000 years, a hidden conflict has been waged. Now it is bursting into the open - in a pitched battle over the very future of the planet.

In the Amazon and in Africa, from oil spills to animal slaughters, the earth is being defiled, and two covert armies are locked in mortal conflict - with a woman reporter caught in the middle.

Drawn into the mysterious disappearance of a gray-eyed stranger and his horrific murder by fire, Tess Drake and a veteran New York City police officer follow the trail of blood from Manhattan to Washington to the ancient caverns of Europe. Hunted by both sides, fighting for her life, Tess races toward the dark heart of a secret that will rock the world.