In the latest masterwork of adventure and suspense from the celebrated #1 bestselling authors, the discovery of a mummified corpse in a legendary ghost town sets off a treasure hunt that will expose a shocking secret that reshapes history itself. A mummified corpse, over half a century old, is found in the cellar of an abandoned building in a remote New Mexico ghost town. Junior FBI Agent Corrie Swanson is assigned what seems to her a throwaway case: to ID the body and determine cause of death. She brings in archaeologist Nora Kelly to excavate the body and lend her expertise to the investigation, and together they uncover something unexpected and shocking: the deceased apparently died in agony, in a fetal position, skin coming off in sheets, a rictus of horror frozen on his face. Hidden on the corpse lies a sixteenth century Spanish gold cross of immense value. When they at last identify the body - and the bizarre cause of death - Corrie and Nora open a door into a terrifying, secret world of ancient treasure and modern obsession: a world centered on one of the most defining, frightening, and transformative moments in American history.,From dust jacket.