Discovery

Abbé François Bérenger Saunière arrives in Rennes-le-Château in 1885 as impoverished as the remote mountain village itself. Inspired by the true story this unconventional priest amasses a fortune creates a magnificent estate and brings his ancient crumbling Church of Saint Maria Magdalena to glory. During the renovation he unearths a first century urn containing two shocking documents--a parchment with grave consequences for his friend Father Antoine Gélis and a papyrus he feels morally bound to hide for safekeeping.Dr. Giselle Gélis is resigned to living within the insular world of biblical scholarship until Dr. David Rettig a gregarious American archeologist bursts into her life in 2012. Hes more familiar with Shakespeare and poetry than the Gospels; shes a pragmatist hes a dreamer--but its kismet nonetheless. A trip across the south of France to learn more about her great-great-uncles life is transformed into a romantic sojourn with nights spent in old castles and days devoted to atmospheric holy sites linked with Giselles heroine Marie-Madeleine. The pièce de résistance of this idyllic week would have been exploring Rennes-le-Château and puzzling over the unsolved clues; instead they stumble on the discovery of a lifetime.As the threads of these stories intertwine an intriguing and little known historical mystery is woven through a contemporary tale of sweeping emotional intensity illuminating the complexities of human relationships--and the power of love.