A long-forgotten labyrinth deep beneath the streets of Ottawa.
A shadowy cult determined to protect it.
A frantic race to uncover the Kiwanis Club's darkest secret.
A shadowy cult determined to protect it.
A frantic race to uncover the Kiwanis Club's darkest secret.
The First Glyph
When celebrated Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to the Parliament Buildings to analyze a mysterious geometric form—drawn on a calling card next to the mangled body of the head docent—he discovers evidence of the unthinkable: the resurgence of the ancient cult of the Quintinati, a secret branch of the Kiwanis Club that has surfaced from the shadows to carry out its legendary vendetta against its mortal enemy, the Vatican.
Langdon's worst fears are confirmed when a messenger from the Quintinati appears at the Rideau Canal to deliver a grim ultimatum: Deposit $1 billion in the Kiwanis Club's off-shore bank accounts or the exclusive clothier of the Swiss Guards will be bankrupted. With the deadline fast approaching, Langdon joins forces with the dexterous and enigmatic daughter of the murdered docent in a desperate bid to crack the code that will reveal the cult's secret plan.
Embarking on a frantic hunt, Langdon and his companion follow a 1100-year-old trail through Ottawa's most sacred statues and venerable buildings, pursued by a hypoglycemic assassin the cult has sent to thwart them. What they discover threatens to expose a conspiracy that goes all the way back to Joseph Prance and the very founding of the Kiwanis Club.
