From celebrated New York Times bestselling author, Steve Berry,
comes the latest Cotton Malone adventure, in which the discovery of a
lost historical document challenges the global might of the United
States.
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in
1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of
madness, history tells us that in the years before he died Ludwig
engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom, one separate, apart,
and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat into and rule as he
wished. But a question remains: did he succeed?
Enter Cotton Malone. After many months, Malone's protégé, Luke Daniels,
has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning Bavarian
independence from Germany. Daniels has also managed to gain the trust of
the prince of Bavaria, a frustrated second son intent on eliminating his
brother, the duke, and restoring the Wittelsbach monarchy, only now with
him as king. Everything hinges on a 19th century deed which proves that
Ludwig's long-rumored search bore fruit--legal title to lands that
Germany, China, and the United States all now want, only for vastly
different reasons.
In a race across Bavaria for clues hidden in Ludwig's three fairytale
castles--Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee--Malone and
Daniels battle an ever-growing list of deadly adversaries, all intent on
finding the last kingdom.
