A luxury ocean liner on its maiden voyage across the North Atlantic, awash in wealth and decadence . . . An ancient Tibetan box, its contents unknown, sealed with a terrifying warning . . . An FBI agent destined to confront what he fears most-himself. . .

FBI Special Agent Pendergast is taking a break from work to take Constance on a whirlwind Grand Tour, hoping to give her closure and a sense of the world that she's missed. They head to Tibet, where Pendergast intensively trained in martial arts and spiritual studies. At a remote monastery, they learn that a rare and dangerous artifact the monks have been guarding for generations has been mysteriously stolen. As a favor, Pendergast agrees to track and recover the relic. A twisting trail of bloodshed leads Pendergast and Constance to the maiden voyage of the Britannia, the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner-and to an Atlantic crossing fraught with terror.