James Rollins · 2009 · thriller

James Rollins's 2009 Sigma Force novel follows a trail of ritual murders and a medieval prophecy toward a threat to the world's food supply. The route runs from Washington to Mali and Rome, through the Lake District of England and the Welsh isle of Bardsey, and on to the Doomsday seed vault of Svalbard.

1. 1
   Washington DC

   Three murders on three continents, each marked with a pagan cross, send Sigma Force hunting an ancient prophecy of doom.

2. 2
   Mali

   In the Sahel of Mali a razed relief camp and a senator's murdered son mark the first sign of a famine engineered by the Guild.

3. 3
   Rome

   Beneath the Coliseum and in St Peter's, a Vatican killing yields a medieval codex and the key to the mystery.

4. 4
   Lake District

   In the peat bogs and abbey ruins of the English Lake Country, a mummified corpse gives up a thousand-year-old secret.

5. 5
   Bardsey Island

   On Bardsey, the Welsh isle of saints, lies the tomb of a Celtic holy man and the Doomsday Key he carried.

6. 6
   Svalbard

   At the Svalbard seed vault, guarded by polar bears at the top of the world, the race to save the harvest of humanity reaches its climax.