July 1209: in Carcassonne a seventeen-year-old girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alaïs cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in protecting it. It will take great sacrifice and faith to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe - a secret that stretches back thousands of years to the deserts of Ancient Egypt . . .

July 2005: Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig in the mountains outside Carcassonne. Inside the hidden tomb where the bones lie crumbling, she experiences an overwhelming sense of malevolence, as well as a creeping understanding that, however impossible it seems, she can somehow understand the mysterious ancient words carved into the rock. Too late, Alice realises she's set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before.

" Compelling...intriguing... passionate " - Sunday times

" An action-packed adventure of modern conspiracy and medieval passion ... a Grail gripper [and] elegantly written timeslip novel set in France " - Independant

Kate Mosse is the author of two previous novels and two non-fiction books. She presented BBC 4's flagship Readers and Writers Roadshow and is a guest presenter of Radio 4's Saturday Review . The co-founder and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize for fiction , Kate is also a trustee of Arts and Business, Arts &, Kids, and the Arts Council of England. In 2000, she was named European Women of achievement for her contribution to the arts.

Emilia Fox starred in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist and appeared in the West End in Les Liaisons Dangereues . She took over from Amanda Burton BBC TV's Silent Witness . Other Orion audiobook by Emilia are The Magical Children series by Sally Gardner and Sea Glass by Anita Shreve .

Anton Lesser has played many of the principle roles for the Royal shakespeare company. His film work includes Charlotte Grey , Eroica and the River Queen .