A momentous archeological discovery, the greatest of all time—and the immediate effect it has on the varied group of men and women whose lives are intimately touched and altered by it—is at the heart of this exciting novel.

In the ruins of the ancient Roman seaport of Ostia Antica, an Italian archeologist has discovered a first-century papyrus, its faded Aramaic text revealing a new gospel written by James, younger brother of Jesus, the original source of the four gospels of the New Testament. The discovery offers the modern world a new Jesus Christ, a real man who lived and walked on earth, fills in the missing years of his ministry, contradicts the existing accounts of his life—and of his supposed death.

To the world at large, The Word—if it is genuine—will come as a revelation, a call to revived faith and hope in an age of doubt and fear. To the syndicate of international Bible publishers and their theologians, who have guarded the secret since its discovery and gambled their lives and fortunes on its authenticity—The Word is a consuming obsession as well as a business enterprise of such magnitude that they cannot let it be touched by the slightest tinge of doubt.

To Steven Randall, the cynical and successful young New York public relations man who has been hired to introduce the International New Testament to the world, the assignment offers more than an awesome challenge. Haunted by a broken marriage, a problem daughter, a demanding mistress, he sees in it the promise of a spiritual regeneration, a last chance to save himself from the pointlessness of life.