Angels & Demons
When a physicist is found murdered at CERN with an ancient Illuminati symbol branded into his chest, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to help. The investigation reveals that the secretive brotherhood has stolen a canister of antimatter—a substance powerful enough to level a city—and hidden it somewhere beneath Vatican City. The countdown to detonation begins just as the cardinals gather in conclave to elect a new pope.
Paired with physicist Vittoria Vetra, the murdered scientist's adopted daughter, Langdon follows an ancient "Path of Illumination" marked in the churches and sculptures of Rome. As the clock runs down, four kidnapped cardinals are murdered one by one in symbolic, brutal fashion, and Langdon must outpace a ruthless assassin to find the antimatter before it destroys the heart of the Catholic Church.
The first novel to feature Robert Langdon, Angels & Demons sets his globe-spanning template: a race against time through real cities and monuments, threaded with art history, religious symbolism, and the age-old clash between science and faith.
A Harvard symbologist racing to stop the Illuminati from destroying Vatican City.
A hired assassin executing the plot against the Church.
The wheelchair-bound director of CERN.
A physicist and the murdered scientist's adopted daughter, aiding Langdon's investigation.
Angels & Demons introduces the character of Robert Langdon and is chronologically the first book featuring him, preceding The Da Vinci Code.
A film adaptation starring Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon was released, following the book's narrative with some notable changes.
The book heavily integrates historical and artistic references, particularly concerning the Vatican and the Illuminati, which are central to the plot's puzzles and mysteries.