Journalist Maureen Paschal believes her dangerous search for the truth about Mary Magdalene is finally over, until a mysterious package arrives containing an ancient Latin document marked with a coded signature. The message points toward the legendary Book of Love, a lost gospel said to preserve teachings written by Jesus. Following clues hidden in art, architecture and sacred sites, Maureen is drawn into the story of Matilda of Canossa, the powerful eleventh-century countess whose life may hold the key to the manuscript's survival. A secretive faction within the Church is determined to keep the document hidden, and Maureen must seek help from people from whom she has become estranged. Moving between Matilda's world and Maureen's investigation, the novel combines spiritual mystery, history, romance and a battle over who controls the past.