Digital Fortress
written by Dan Brown

It follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he investigates a murder in the Louvre, and discovers a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to and fathering children with Mary Magdalene.

The story involves a conflict between an ancient group, the Illuminati, and the Roman Catholic Church.

Intelligence Analyst Rachel Sexton is in her mid-thirties, is single, and works for the NRO (National Reconnaissance Office). Her father, Senator Sedgewick Sexton, is a popular presidential candidate surpassing the incumbent President of the United States Zachary Herney. The President sends her to the Arctic as part of a team of experts to confirm and authenticate findings made by NASA deep within the Milne Ice Shelf. NASA's new Earth Observation System a collection of satellites constantly monitoring the globe for signs of large-scale change, has found an extremely dense spot in the Milne Ice Shelf. NASA discovers a very dense meteorite. In it are fossils of bugs very similar to--but not the same as--species on earth. NASA claims this as proof of extraterrestrial life. This find is something NASA needs desperately, as the agency's success rate on other fronts has put it in a bad light. Senator Sexton uses this as an example of government overspending and failure to further his campaign. Meanwhile, a Delta Force team is observing the discovery, monitoring the NASA staff for an unknown commander. When one of the four civilian scientists observes an irregularity with the pit the meteorite was found in, the Delta Force team 'takes him out' using their miniature spy bot, leaving his body in the pit far below the water where he will not be discovered. When another civilian scientist sees the irregularity, he shares it with his friends Corky and Rachel. They report it to Norah, who confirms that there is sea water in what should be a closed area with only freshwater. The four go outside to scan the ice from a distance. The scan shows Ming's body and a frozen section of ice where the meteorite was drilled up into the shaft, and sea water sealed the gap. Upon discovering this, the four are attacked by the Delta Force team. Norah is killed, shown as an accident. Before they are killed, Rachel, Mike and Corky escape and are picked up by the Navy submarine USS Charlotte. The Delta Force team believes them to be dead, leaving them a chance to tell the President's advisor and Rachel's boss at the NRO about their discovery, Ming and Norah's deaths and about the attempt on their lives. Rachel's boss, William Pickering, has them airlifted form the sub to a chopper which escorts them away from the meteorite discovery site. A group of four civilian scientists have already been studying the find and have confirmed NASA's claims. It is only hours before the President and NASA plan to go public with the discovery.

Harvard University professor Robert Langdon wakes up in a hospital with a head wound and no memory of the last few days. His last memory is walking on the Harvard campus, but he quickly realizes that he is now in Florence. Sienna Brooks, one of the doctors attending him, tells him he suffered a concussion from being grazed by a bullet and had stumbled into the emergency ward. Suddenly, Vayentha, a female assassin who has been following Robert, breaks into the hospital, shoots the doctor in charge of Robert's care and approaches Robert's room. Sienna grabs Robert and they flee to her apartment.