The Burning Symbol. Volume 1

A mysterious murder occurs on a cruise liner in the Mediterranean. Elina Kogan, a former employee of the Israeli military prosecutor’s office, is suspected of indirect involvement. But after an attempted attack on her, the girl begins her own investigation and encounters an invisible yet strong resistance. The search for the criminal leads Elina to a secret connected to ancient parchments. They contain information capable of shaking belief in the Savior. What’s more, it turns out Vatican employees and members of a radical Christian group are hunting these heretical documents…

In reality, this mysterious story began even earlier—in Ancient Rome, in the house of a man who rented out guest rooms in Drepanum. At that time, the Roman Empire was losing territories: it was torn apart by greedy usurpers and savage tribes. However, the empire’s fate was decided not in the capital, but in small towns. Provincians from poor families built dizzying careers, saved the homeland, and created the New Rome—shaping the future of Europe and the Mediterranean.

In the novel, the story of the distant past intertwines strangely with events of our own days. The main characters of the present and the past investigate crimes, experience dangerous adventures, love and hate…