In 1978, Italian journalist Emma Nicoletti comes into possession of confidential documents stolen from the Vatican Secret Archive by an activist whistleblowing priest. The dying priest has entrusted her with material that incriminates the Vatican Bank in a years-long international banking scandal.

Italy is awash in widespread violence. Political terrorism parallels increasing violent actions by organized crime competing for control of drug trafficking making Italy arguably the most dangerous country in Western Europe. Using this background of violence, the shadowy head of Vatican intelligence sets out to recover the documents by any means possible. Nicoletti and Interpol agent Frank Amatrano become pitted against a conspiracy of criminal Italian bankers allied with dark forces within the Vatican using the Sicilian Mafia as proxies for selective violent acts.