The Covenant, Machiavelli's final sinister work, provides a tyrannical plan for gaining true power and keeping it. Over the centuries, inspired by this scheme, a wealthy despotic order has prospered beyond dreams of greed and domination. Three people now stand between these powermongers and their final apocalyptic conquest. A rocket-paced tale of global maneuvering and betrayal. "[He] excels at ratcheting up the action."—Booklist