<B>From an author who delivers a whole new meaning to the term ‘thriller’” (<I>San Francisco Book Review</I>): in the next rollicking adventure in the Thieves series reformed thief Michael St. Pierre and his crew steal two artifacts that hold the key to one of history’s greatest mysteries. </B><p>In a world of dark and light, where East meets West, a horrific act of violence propels former thief Michael St. Pierre into a mystery that began 500 years ago.<BR><BR>Michael and his ex-girlfriend KC Ryan are blackmailed by a US Army colonel to travel to opposite ends of China, each responsible for stealing a piece of an ancient puzzle: a diary and a compass. With their lives depending on each other’s success, they face off against the complex underworld of the Chinese triads, a twisted female assassin, and a madman whose only desire is to possess the secrets held within the pages of the diary—knowledge that would give him enormous power and lead to the downfall of nations. <BR><BR>Moving from the casinos of Macau to its dangerous backstreets; from the palace at the heart of China’s Forbidden City to the medieval castles of Spain; from the seaside mansions along the Amalfi Coast to an uncharted Pacific island, Michael is in a race against time. He has less than five days to uncover a 500-year-old mystery and save KC from certain death.