A search for a priceless artifact stolen from the Second Temple in Jerusalem becomes a race against time, terrorism, politics, and the past.Jonathan Marcus is a promising young archeologist studying at the American Academy in Rome when a terrible accident results in a fellow student's death and Jonathan' expulsion. He abandons archeology for the law, becoming a skillful advocate for unscrupulous antiquities dealers.When Jonathan's firm sends him to Rome to discredit the testimony of a prominent U.N. antiquities official, a chance reunion leads to a hunt for the legendary Tabernacle Menorah: solid gold, eight feet high, stolen 2, 000 years ago and never recovered. As Jonathan and his friend scour Rome', s ancient sites for hints to its whereabouts, they quickly realize they are not alone and the precious menorah is a key to controlling history itself.