Early in its history, the Roman Catholic Church established a secret sect of elite spies and killers tasked with protecting the Church, its secrets and its treasures - the Mystiko Kataskopos, shortened to the MK. Members of the MK are, to this day, contemplative monks highly trained in both mystical practises and spying and assassination. They do whatever the Church demands. One such mystical assassin is Raphael Ward and he is secretly charged with tracing the 'real' version of the legendary Turin Shroud, unbeknownst to the world to have been stolen by the Nazis in WWII. As Raphael pursues new leads and deciphers the code that will lead to the Shroud, his mission forces him to engage with the world's darkest, most violent underbelly. As he faces threats to his life - and threatens those of others - he begins to question the very faith that has sustained and driven him for so long. Monk is a compelling, clever and page turning thriller in the best traditions of Dan Brown and Michael Byrnes.