The Relic Master

In 1517, Dismas makes his living finding religious relics for rich and powerful buyers, and the relics he sells are not always what the buyers believe. His two best clients are Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, and Albrecht of Mainz, who is about to become a cardinal.

Frederick is taking an interest in the new writings of Martin Luther. Albrecht cares more for the money and politics that religion can bring, and he plans to buy his cardinalship by selling indulgences. As his ambitions grow, so does his appetite for bigger relics that will sell well.

Dismas and his friend Albrecht Dürer, the artist, decide to make a shroud and sell it to the unsuspecting Albrecht. It goes wrong when Dürer's pride gives the fake away. Albrecht then hands both men to four brutish mercenaries and orders the lot of them to steal the Shroud of Chambéry, Europe's most celebrated relic, which is to go on display in Savoy.

The road to Savoy brings a fight with a lustful count and a new companion, a female apothecary. This is a comic adventure with Vatican intrigue and period detail on art, religion, politics and science. At the destination, the party discovers that someone else is after a relic of doubtful origin too.