A boy, not yet quite a man, lies dying in marshy ground beside a river. Julian, a monk, finds him. He is given permission by the authorities to care for the boy, someone wild and untamable.

Julian had not always been a monk. In an earlier life he was a research scientist. Julian’s world implodes when an ex-colleague from the University is brutally murdered. The shadowy world of the Chinese Communist Party, bent on stealing cutting edge intellectual property, looms over him.

Jade, a Chinese research physicist is inveigled to help the Chinese cause. However, she has not reckoned on the surprises she discovers when meeting Julian.

Scientific secrets, affecting the world’s balance of power, need to be found and kept safe. The martyr’s stone, hidden in a lead-light window, holds the key.

Danger draws Julian, Jade and the boy together as they are forced to hide in the valleys of the Fleurieu Peninsula…in South Australia, and in the secret places of old Port Adelaide.

The final drama is played out deep underground, where surprises await… and true motives are revealed.