Origin
At the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Robert Langdon watches his former student—the billionaire computer scientist and futurist Edmond Kirsch—prepare to unveil a discovery he claims will answer humanity's oldest questions: where do we come from, and where are we going. Kirsch promises the revelation will upend the world's religions. Moments into the presentation, everything descends into chaos and Kirsch is silenced before he can share his findings.
Langdon flees the museum with Ambra Vidal, the museum's director and the fiancée of Spain's future king, determined to release Kirsch's discovery to the world. Aided by Winston, Kirsch's uncannily capable artificial-intelligence assistant, the pair race across Spain—through Barcelona's modernist landmarks and the shadow of the royal palace—pursued by an assassin and tangled in a web of political and religious power.
The fifth Robert Langdon novel turns from ancient history to the near future, weaving modern art, the collision of science and faith, and the promise and peril of artificial intelligence into another breakneck chase.
Symbologist drawn into releasing his late student's world-shaking discovery.
Director of the Guggenheim Bilbao and fiancee of Spain's crown prince, who flees with Langdon.
A recruited assassin pursuing Langdon and Ambra.
Billionaire futurist and Langdon's former student, whose announcement sets off the plot.
While this novel is the fifth installment in the Robert Langdon series, it functions as a standalone mystery. You can follow the plot and character arcs without having read the previous entries, as each book features a self-contained investigation.
The narrative is a work of fiction and does not recount actual events. While the author incorporates real-world locations and themes regarding the intersection of science and religion, the specific plot and the discovery at the center of the story are invented.