A startling discovery: well respected professor of chemistry, Dr. Ray Lehrer, dead on the floor of his laboratory at Bowdoin College. The evidence suggests a tragic accident, except for one mysterious clue: a message written in an unknown language by the professor as he lay dying. Detective Thomas Wright cannot shake a hunch that there is some significance to this code, and takes it upon himself to pursue the truth. Little does he know that his personal investigation will bring him into a world he never expected to find: ancient philosophies, an esoteric order of modern day alchemists formed in secret, and a conspiracy which dates back decades.