Alchemy, forgery, genocide, faith and fervour - an extraordinary historical trail that straddles the centuries. Now in paperback, this trail links the Roman sack of Jerusalem in AD70, the sudden wealth of a priest in Rennes le Chateau in the 1800s, Hitler's SS, and the body of an Italian banker found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in the 1980s Legend has it that the treasure of the Jews was, following the Visigoth sack of Rome, brought to France. The Middle Ages' and Renaissance profusion of 'secret societies' - from the Knights Templar to the forerunners of the freemasons - may have been established to protect this hidden wealth. It has remained a magnet for power-seekers and seems to be the key to many mysteries: Rennes le Chateau, the origins of Nazi gold, the Vatican bank scandal. More recently, the present 'guardians' of the treasure, the mysterious Priory of Sion (at the heart of the famous Holy Blood Holy Grail quest), have mounted a cover-up campaign and seem to have manipulated events ranging from the election of Francois Mitterand and the foundation of the State of Israel.