The Omega Factor

The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalized, dismantled, or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold?

Enter UNESCO investigator, Nicholas Lee, who works for the United Nations' Cultural Liaison and Investigative Office (CLIO). Nick's job is to protect the world's cultural artifacts-anything and everything from countless lesser-known objects to national treasures.

When Nick travels to Belgium for a visit with a woman from his past, he unwittingly stumbles on the trail of a legendary panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, stolen in 1934 under cover of night and never seen since. Soon Nick is plunged into a bitter conflict, one that has been simmering for nearly two thousand years. On one side is the Maidens of Saint-Michael, les Vautours, Vultures, a secret order of nuns and the guardians of a great truth. Pitted against them is the Vatican, which has wanted for centuries to both find and possess what the nuns guard. Because of Nick the maidens have finally been exposed, their secret placed in dire jeopardy-a vulnerability that the Vatican swiftly moves to exploit utilizing an ambitious cardinal and a corrupt archbishop, both with agendas of their own.

From the tranquil canals of Ghent, to the towering bastions of Carcassonne, and finally into an ancient abbey high in the French Pyrenees, Nick Lee must confront a modern-day religious crusade intent on eliminating a shocking truth from humanity's past. Success or failure - life and death - all turn on the Omega Factor.

Not since The Da Vinci Code has a thriller so deftly combined religious conspiracy, a message hidden within a world-famous work of art, and pulse-pounding suspense. The Omega Factor is one of the best thrillers of the year Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Berry once again smoothly blends action and history. Dan Brown fans will want to check this one out Publishers Weekly
If you are a Dan Brown fan you are going to love The Omega Factor by Steve Berry, a clever blend of historical fact and action-packed fiction Irish Independent
Here's one vote for Berry making a series out of Nick's adventures Booklist
Praise for Steve Berry:
Berry has called Dan Brown and raised him, taking the lead in the big-money game of the religious-relic thriller Booklist, on The Warsaw Protocol
Berry raises this genre's stakes The New York Times
My kind of thriller Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code
Pure intrigue. Pure fun Clive Cussler, author of Raise the Titanic!

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series. His books have been translated into 40 languages with 17,000,000 copies in 51 countries.

Steve was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers - a group of more than 2,600 thriller writers from around the world - and served for three years as its co-president.

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The Ghent Altarpiece is the most violated work of art in the world. Thirteen times it has been vandalized, dismantled, or stolen. Why? What secrets does it hold? Enter UNESCO investigator, Nicholas Lee, who works for the United Nations' Cultural Liaison and Investigative Office (CLIO). Nick's job is to protect the world's cultural artifacts-anything and everything from countless lesser-known objects to national treasures. When Nick travels to Belgium for a visit with a woman from his past, he unwittingly stumbles on the trail of a legendary panel from the Ghent Altarpiece, stolen in 1934 under cover of night and never seen since. Soon Nick is plunged into a bitter conflict, one that has been simmering for nearly two thousand years. On one side is the Maidens of Saint-Michael, les Vautours, Vultures, a secret order of nuns and the guardians of a great truth. Pitted against them is the Vatican, which has wanted for centuries to both find and possess what the nuns guard. Because of Nick the maidens have finally been exposed, their secret placed in dire jeopardy-a vulnerability that the Vatican swiftly moves to exploit utilizing an ambitious cardinal and a corrupt archbishop, both with agendas of their own. From the tranquil canals of Ghent, to the towering bastions of Carcassonne, and finally into an ancient abbey high in the French Pyrenees, Nick Lee must confront a modern-day religious crusade intent on eliminating a shocking truth from humanity's past. Success or failure - life and death - all turn on the Omega Factor.

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