Fear and disbelief grip the Vatican, and the very foundations of Christianity are challenged when a “Holy Man”, an uncorrupted body and seven papyrus manuscripts are discovered in a Mayan burial box beneath a ruined church in Mexico’s Chiapas State. An archaeologist and Muslim friend battle a Papal Inquisitor, a corrupt Mormon official, and the Mayan Indians to possess the miraculous corpse and scrolls, all of them unaware that the greatest treasure of all has been recovered by a Mayan shaman who plans to leave Christianity’s greatest prize in the hands of a renegade Catholic priest.
In the Time of the Feathered Serpent is the third book in an exciting trilogy that combines anthropology with murder and suspense. Set in modern day Mexico, it follows the story begun in Xibalba: In Search of the Lost Mayan Texts and Gospel of the Feathered Serpent. When 2000-year-old scrolls, containing the lost gospel of St. Thomas, are discovered in the jungles of southern Mexico they ignite a frenzied competition. Corrupt government agents, an archeologist looking for the next great discovery, narco-traffickers, Zapatista rebels, a Mayan holy man and a messianic priest all rush to get possession of the scrolls. The pontiff has arranged to leave his entourage for two days on the final leg of his journey in southern Chiapas State. Pope Lucas hopes that a shaman and archaeologist will lead him to a former Catholic priest, a 'Holy Man', who performs miracles among the Indians and who has in his possession a 'Holy Cup' recovered from a Mayan burial box. This ancient coffin also contained seven papyrus scrolls from the 1st Century and an uncorrupted body of an even older 'Holy Man', believed by many in the Vatican to be the apostle St. Thomas. When a Papal Inquisitor dispatched to investigate the body and books loses his life, the pontiff feels compelled to recover Christianity's greatest treasures.
Set in Chiapas, this mystery and suspense tale follows archaeologists David Wolf and Karen Dumas as they abandon their comfortable lives to search for two rare Maya codices that survived the destruction by Spanish priest Diego Landa during the Conquest. Their quest not only uncovers historical treasures but also leads them into a web of intrigue and danger, highlighting the rich cultural heritage of the Maya civilization.
Archeoložce Karen se podařilo rozluštit nápisy na mexické kamenné stéle, proto nechápe, proč je z projektu náhle odvolána. Když najde kancelář i byt zpřeházené, dojde jí, že někdo všemi prostředky usiluje o výsledky její práce. Rozhodne se okamžitě odcestovat do neprostupné mexické džungle. V dobrodružném pátrání po pokladu Mayů ji nedokáže zastavit nic: krvežízniví konkurenti, ozbrojení povstalci ani nečekaná láska.
