This work of fiction explores the great 13th-century mystery: Why was the body of St. Francis stolen and hidden? A multilayered, intricately plotted tale develops as the Franciscan Order destroys all early biographies of Francis by his closest disciples in favor of a sanitized biography of the powerful St. Bonaventure.The story begins 30 years after Francis's death, when Father Leo, Francis' closest friend, is dying. Bound to a vow of silence, Leo sends a cryptic message to Conrad, his own favorite student, connecting him with an unlikely companion, 16-year-old Sister Amata. The two begin to search for the truth about St. Francis, a truth that will shake the faith of the masses to the core and bring into question the foundation of the Franciscan Order.
