The Shroud - George Bachman - Bog

In 16th-century England, Queen Elizabeth's former spymaster, Hertford, is recruited by a court faction, the Owls, to recover the Shroud of Turin from Rome before a rival faction can do so and use its supernatural power to usurp the throne. He succeeds, but when a third party starts killing off people from both sides to take the Shroud for himself, Hertford discovers that Gotthard Kettler, an old enemy of England, has reemerged to destroy everyone. However, when the Owl that Hertford tries to alert is murdered, Kettler frames the veteran spymaster. Hunted by vengeful members of both factions and suspected by Elizabeth, Hertford can rely only on himself and his years of experience as he pursues Kettler through catacombs, underground churches, and back alleys across Europe, seeking to stop the conspiracies against him, the factions, and the queen by uncovering the secrets of the Shroud that link them all.