The Alchemist

Ben Hope was an elite soldier before his troubles forced him to quit the army. Now he's using his skills to rescue kidnapped children. But when Ben is approached by a millionaire businessman to trace an ancient lost manuscript whose secret could save a dying girl, he finds himself embarking on the strangest mission of his life. With fiendish codes to crack and dangerous enemies in hot pursuit, Ben teams up with Roberta Ryder, a beautiful American scientist. The trail leads them from Paris to the ancient Cathar strongholds of the Languedoc. There lies an astonishing secret which has been hidden through the ages.