Why would a top NSA spy care about three ciphers to a 200-year-old treasure? That question has haunted Simon Blake for four years. He still sees his brother, desperate and dying from a plane crash. Still hears the words he whispered into Simon's ear: "The Beale Ciphers. The cross is the key. Tell no one!" Since that night, Simon has become a super-user at NSA with more security clearances than Edward Snowden. He's lost his girlfriend and risked everything, but hasn't uncovered a single new lead to his brother's killer. Now, a second murder leads Simon to a mysterious box of secrets that once belonged to Thomas Jefferson Beale—the man who left three unbreakable ciphers with a stranger 200 years ago—then disappeared along with a massive treasure. Against orders and with his ex-girlfriend as his only backup, Simon joins the treasure hunt to smoke out his brother's killer. Soon he has religious zealots, ruthless spies and trained assassins on his heels and each clue drags him deeper into a deadly race across two continents for long-lost secrets that threaten his agency, his nation, and everyone he loves.