Brief

When a woman from his past brings evidence of an old and incredibly valuable Gospel, a professor in religion and history is thrust into a violent game of cat and mouse in the quest to find the ancient treasure that the Gospel points to. He finds help from the woman from his past, an archaeologist, and a detective, as a violent French man tracks and tries to murder the group. In the end, the professor and his allies are successful in surviving and uncovering the hidden treasure, though many people are killed and injured along the way.

What We Liked

This is an incredibly original and impressive piece. It's well written, confidently structured, and it features a huge ensemble cast that is juggled with skill and strong descriptions. The action is exciting, and the stakes feel high from start to finish. There is also an unbelievable amount of historical and religious information in this book. Readers will walk away having learned something and had a lot of fun while doing it.

Film: As a feature adaptation, this film would be packed full of action, plot twists, and fascinating content. To fit into one film, the story would certainly have to be condensed, but as a franchise, this could be a really excellent two or three film adaptation.

TV: There is so much plot and story in this project that it would be perfect for a television adaptation, and it would be particularly great as a limited-run miniseries. There are interesting characters located all over the world, and television would allow for all of those characters and their individual storylines to shine.

Key points:
Fascinating historical and religious information.
Smart and compelling plot and premise.
Strong writing style.
High stakes action.
Endearing characters.

Synopsis

We meet Riley Callahan as he runs through New York, trying not to be caught by a giant who pursues him. Riley isn’t sure why he’s being chased. He no longer has the gospel anyway; a woman conned his discovery out of him. When the man catches Riley, he sells the woman out before the man shoots and kills him.

We meet Doctor Shane Randall as he lectures a class of Yale Divinity students about Samson and tries not to be distracted when a familiar woman enters the back of the classroom. Shane and Lauren met at the University of Texas and had a brief, but passionate romantic relationship. Lauren needs Shane’s help with something important: the gospel. She is the woman who double crossed Riley. Shane and Lauren agree to meet in the evening to discuss the issue further.

Marcus Quinn is the next character introduced as he wakes in darkness, tied to a chair. Quinn is questioned by the same man who killed Riley. He wants to know where the woman who asked Quinn for help is now. Before he’s killed, Quinn reveals that he sent Lauren to Harvard Divinity School to talk to Doctor Samuel Evans, a theologian.

At dinner, Lauren tells Shane she believes she has a copy of the Sicarii Gospel, which many theologians believe contained proof of Jesus’ revolutionary intentions. A copy of this text would be extremely dangerous to the church. Shane agrees to translate and test the document, though he isn’t sure he believes it’s the real thing.

Far away, overlooking the Dead Sea, Amit David works on an archaeological dig. He believes he is close to the discovery of his life, and he’s excited to see the discoveries the dig will uncover.

Back with Shane, he wakes up to a call from John Willis, a man who knew Marcus Quinn. Shane knew Quinn as well, as a commercial archaeologist. John tells Shane that Quinn is dead, but Shane isn’t bothered.

At Harvard Divinity, Samuel Evans is interrupted by the French killer while he examines an artifact. Samuel tells the man that he sent the woman with the gospel to Shane at Yale, and then the man kills Samuel.

Shane, unaware of the impending danger, tests Lauren’s document with his assistant/translator, Jane. Jane takes the document overnight to continue testing it. Shane is still unsure about its authenticity because of the good condition of the animal fat. Shane and Lauren leave the lab and go to dinner for the evening.

In a church, readers learn that the French assassin is named Raphael. He and his father begin they are doing the work of God by hunting down the gospel. They decide they’ll be visiting Doctor Randall next.

At a restaurant, Shane tells Lauren more about the truth behind Jesus and the Gospel. He breaks down myths versus facts. The point is that the Sicarii Gospel has the ability to prove and disprove a number of popular and controversial myths about Jesus and his intentions. When Shane and Lauren part ways, Shane has bought Lauren’s story about how she got her hands on the Gospel, and it seems he has agreed to help her.

Detective Adam Reese of the Cambridge PD is preparing dinner at home when he’s called and informed of Samuel Evans’ murder. It appears Adam Reese is the man who will investigate this crime.

With Amit David and the archaeological dig, readers learn that David is minutes away from solving one of the largest mysteries in archaeology: the Copper Scroll.

In Nablus, West Bank, Yousif Al-Jamal sits in the office of his organization that plans to displace Hamas and become the leading Palestinian liberation organization. Al Jamal’s plans have led him to David’s archaeological dig, and he is ready to take immediate action depending on what they find.

Shane arrives back at the lab with Jane, but they are interrupted by Detective Adam Reese, who informs them of Samuel’s murder. Lauren arrives too and knows it must be the Frenchman, but she doesn’t say anything. Jane agrees to show Shane and Lauren the results of her translation on the Gospel. When she does, Shane concludes that the document can’t be the Sicarii Gospel. It might be a genuine new gospel, but it doesn’t have the right information in it to be the true Sicarii Gospel.

Amit and his dig team breakthrough, but Amit is disappointed. They find ossuaries in an important place, but no Copper Scrolls’ treasure.

When Shane arrives home, Raphael and his father are waiting for him. They question him about Lauren and threaten him in the future, but they leave Shane with his life. Shane calls Lauren. He wants to meet at her hotel and tell her what happened. All the while, Detective Reese sits outside and watches the situation.

At the hotel, Lauren finally tells Shane the truth. Raphael and his father are members of a Bible school intent on destroying the Gospel, both because it could harm their idea of Jesus, but also because it may contain a map to treasure. Shane still isn’t certain the Sicarii Gospel is genuine. He and Lauren sleep together after a tense conversation.

Amit looks over the information regarding the Copper Scrolls. He’s close to finding what he seeks, but he is missing something. A British/French voice on the phone tells Amit that soon he will get the help he needs.

The Frenchmen murder a number of officers and break in to Shane’s home. He flees and instructs Lauren to do the same. Together, they realize that the Gospel they have is connected to the Copper Scrolls. At the same time, Raphael and his father find Lauren’s hotel. Lauren and Shane have already decided to go off the grid. After a shootout, Raphael and his father escape the hotel and continue their search.

Shane and Lauren fly to Israel and link up with Amit David, who is Shane’s old friend.

At Shane’s lab, Jane meets Raphael and his father and they threaten her in search of the Gospel. She is shot in the head, but Detective Reese finds her still alive. She tells him where Shane has gone and Reese follows.

In Israel, a man named Basim Fayyad has been posing as an archaeological worker, but his real mission is violent and deadly: he has hidden explosives at the dig site. Amit gets a call about the explosion while picking up Shane and Lauren at the airport. Together, they decide to go to Jordan in search of the link between the Gospel and the Scrolls.

Shane, Lauren, and Amit successfully cross the border and reach the site. Al-Kayed beats them there though and tells the security guard to let the group break in without stopping them. In fear for his life, he listens.

Inside, Lauren, Shane, and Amit explore the site. Outside, Al-Kayed and his men arrive and follows them inside. They capture the group on their way out of the cave. Shane, Lauren, and Amit also come face to face with Gilbert de Clisson, the dangerous Frenchmen who finances Amit’s digs. He frees them, but asks where the treasure is hidden in return.

Detective Reese flies to Israel, keeping a close eye on the Frenchmen on the plane as he does. In Israel, Shane and the others arrive in Jerusalem. When the plane lands, Raphael and his father go to the same hotel. Detective Reese follows them and tries to get help from the local police force, but he must follow the Frenchmen before he can secure reinforcements.

Raphael and his father rescue the Directeur from the hotel and head to a place called cenacle, where the Last Supper took place, spilling blood on their way there. Reese keeps tailing them. Shane’s group goes to the cenacle too, as everyone believes it may be the location of the treasure.

Al-Jamal and his dangerous men are the first to arrive at the Tomb of David, and they violently storm the place. The others rush to follow him, except for Shane, Amit, and Lauren, who cleverly use another entrance.

In the caves, the Frenchman, the Directeur, and his father take out some of the Palestinian men, but Raphael’s father is killed in a shootout. He was all that kept the Frenchman human. Shane, Amit, and Lauren move through an underground cemetery and get closer to the treasure. When they can’t find it, Shane wants to head back to the surface, but Lauren presses on alone.

Raphael nearly kills Lauren, but Shane saves her and Raphael is left dying on the ground. The tables turn when Clisson, the dangerous man who paid for Amit’s dig, takes control. Raphael musters one more ounce of strength and kills Clisson.

Detective Reese and the local men helping him arrive just in time and save Lauren, Shane, and Amit. They find the treasure in the cave system. A later chapter reveals that the Vatican already has the Sicarii Gospel. In the end, everyone splits up the money and Reese considers a job offer from the FBI.

About The Author

Randall J. Gannaway is a writer of fiction and nonfiction, with a particular focus on works that deal with religion and history. He grew up in the Dallas, Texas, area and currently lives with his wife in Tulsa, Oklahoma.