Brother Bernard Seif, SMC, EdD, DNM

Brother Francis O’Neil has spent much of his twenty-first century life studying the work of his monastic founders, Jane de Chantal and Francis de Sales. By profession, he is a clinical psychologist and doctor of Chinese medicine, on top of his fascination with the two sixteenth-century religious figures. It is during one of his many academic and charitable trips to China, far from his home and life in Pennsylvania, when the unthinkable happens.

Four-hundred-year-old ancient parchments have mysteriously come into his hands. An avid researcher and historian, O’Neil knows these parchments are special, but on closer inspection, he realizes they are much more than special: they may be the authentic texts, penned years before by de Chantal and de Sales. With his new acquisition, O’Neil also receives a strong feeling of foreboding that transcends time.

Something happened to de Chantal and de Sales. They were involved in an ancient mystery, as yet unsolved. Perhaps, O’Neil—who knows their work so well—will unravel the mystery of his spiritual mother and father. He’s good at solving puzzles, but how good is he at staying alive, as the parchments seem to bring danger to his doorstep? Will the ancient pages end in murder abroad? Or will the danger follow him back home to Pennsylvania?