From celebrated New York Times bestselling author, Steve
Berry, comes the latest Cotton Malone adventure, in which the discovery
of a lost historical document challenges the global might of the United
States.
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure
who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later.
Eccentric to the point of madness, history tells us that in the years
before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom,
one separate, apart, and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat
into and rule as he wished. But a question remains: did he succeed?
Enter Cotton Malone. After many months, Malone’s protégé, Luke
Daniels, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning
Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels has also managed to gain
the trust of the prince of Bavaria, a frustrated second son intent on
eliminating his brother, the duke, and restoring the Wittelsbach
monarchy, only now with him as king. Everything hinges on a 19th
century deed which proves that Ludwig’s long-rumored search bore
fruit--legal title to lands that Germany, China, and the United States
all now want, only for vastly different reasons.
In a race
across Bavaria for clues hidden in Ludwig’s three fairytale
castles--Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee--Malone and
Daniels battle an ever-growing list of deadly adversaries, all intent on
finding the last kingdom.
