The alchemist's code

Nostradamus, the celebrated seer, can read the shifting currents of what is to come, yet he fails to notice the peril gathering around him and his apprentice Alfeo. Venice's governing Council of Ten engages the pair to track down a foreign agent. The only leads are a set of intercepted letters written in a code that appears impossible to crack.

As Nostradamus senses hostile forces at work against him, he concludes that ordinary investigation will not expose the spy, and that the hunt must proceed through the occult. He calls on Alfeo Zeno, a young swordsman whose particular gifts might be the key to uncovering what is really happening.