The story of the rise and fall of the powerful and
mysterious Knights of the Temple: the Third Crusade
under Richard the Lionheart. It is sixty years since the
secret Brotherhood of Sion, founders of the Knights
Templar, uncovered the treasure vouchsafed them beneath
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now the ambitious and
ruthless Plantagenet King Richard the Lionheart leads
the Third Crusade against Saladin, and both the honour
of the Templars and the mission of the Brotherhood are
at risk. Andrew Sinclair is one of the few survivors of
the Battle of Hattin in 1187. As a member of the
clandestine Brotherhood he was taught Arabic before
being sent to the Holy Land on a mission that neither
the Order of Templars nor the leaders of the Pope's
armies can know of. Sinclair's captivity following the
battle led to his friendship with the infidel and
threatened to divide his loyalty. One of the great
secrets of the Brotherhood is that they are not
Christians, unlike the Templars. Sinclair's cousin and
fellow member of the Brotherhood, Sir Andre St Clair,
arrives with Richard from Cyprus.The secret mission they
must pursue will lead them into the desert and the lair
of the fearsome Assassins. And meanwhile Saladin's
clever tactics in battle, including the butchery of the
magnificent destriers, the massive horses that carry
armoured Frankish knights, bring reversals to the
Christian cause from start of the Crusade. But it is
Richard the Lionheart's treachery and deceit that
convince both cousins that the Crusade is a sham, and
that all men are venal and greedy, driven by the lust
for power. Only their knowledge of the Order of Sion
saves them from despair: their secret mission becomes
more vital than ever before. This glorious epic tells
the true and truly astonishing story of the Knights of
the Black and White. |
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