When a world renowned scientist is found brutally murdered in a Swiss research facility; a Harvard professor; Robert Langdon; is summoned to identify the mysterious symbol seared onto the dead man's chest. His baffling conclusion: that it is the work of the Illuminati; a secret brotherhood presumed extinct for nearly four hundred years - reborn to continue their bitter vendetta against their most hated enemy; the Catholic church. In Rome; the college of cardinals assembles to elect a new pope. Yet somewhere within the walls of the Vatican; an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly counts down to oblivion. While the minutes tick away; Langdon joins forces with Vittoria Vetra; a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist; to decipher the labyrinthine trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome to the long-forgotten Illuminati lair - a secret refuge wherein lies the only hope for the Vatican. But; with each revelation comes another twist; another turn in the plot; which leaves Langdom and Vetra reeling and at the mercy of a seemingly invisible enemy...