In a world of dark and light, where East meets West, a horrific act of violence propels former thief Michael St. Pierre into a mystery that began five hundred years ago. . . . In Richard Doetsch's next unforgettable Thieves thriller, Michael and his ex-girlfriend KC Ryan have been blackmailed by a U.S. Army colonel. They are to travel to opposite ends of China, and each is responsible for stealing a piece of an ancient puzzle: a diary and a compass. With their lives dependent on each others success, they must face off against the complex underworld of the Chinese triads, a twisted female assassin, and a madman whose only desire is to possess the secrets held within the pages of the diaryknowledge that would give him enormous power and lead to the downfall of nations. Moving from the glittering casinos of Macau to its dark and dangerous backstreets; from the palace at the heart of Chinas Forbidden City to the medieval castles of Spain; from the seaside mansions along the Amalfi Coast to an uncharted Pacific island, Michael is in a race against time. He has less than five days to uncover a five-hundred-year-old mysteryand to save KC from certain death.