Ethan Gage fought beside Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt and was his agent in Italy, America, and Greece. But that uneasy partnership has soured, and now Gage wants revenge-to make Napoleon pay for kidnapping Ethan's son, Harry, and nearly killing his wife, Astiza.

Smuggled into France, Gage is determined to stop Bonaparte and destroy his ambitions to overtake Europe. Intrigue abounds in the City of Light's shadows as Gage, joined by Astiza, conspires to sabotage Napoleon's coronation, substituting the power-mad emperor's diadem with the Crown of Thorns-the religious relic purportedly worn by Christ at his crucifixion. When the elaborate plot is foiled, Astiza is captured and Ethan flees to England where his cunning and expertise is courted by the British.

The Barbed Crown is a thrilling romp that sees Ethan Gage once again embroiled in European history . . . and the fate of the modern world.