The Map Thief by Heather Terrell

The Map Thief by Heather Terrell

Beijing, China, 1421: It is a momentous time for the Ming Dynasty. Honoring the completion of the Forbidden City, a fleet of unprecedented size sets sail under Admiral Zheng He. Zheng's mission is to chart the globe, trading for riches and bringing glory to China's emperor. Among the crew is the talented cartographer and navigator Ma Zhi, whose work will lead to the first true map of the world - but whose accomplishment will vanish when the fleet returns to a very different China than the one it left.

Lisbon, Portugal, 1496: At the height of Portugal's maritime domination during the Age of Discovery, the legendary explorer Vasco da Gama embarks on a quest to find a sea route to India. On board is navigator Antonio Coehlo, who guards Portugal's most secret treasure: a map that already shows the way.

New York, present day: Mara Coyne's new client has left her uneasy. Republican kingmaker Richard Tobias has hired her, he says, because of her skill in recovering stolen art and advocating for the rightful owners, but Mara senses that he is not telling her everything. Tobias reveals that a centuries-old map was stolen from an archaeological dig he is sponsoring in China, and he wants her to get it back. But as Mara begins her investigation, she uncovers the shocking truth: The map is more valuable than anyone has ever imagined, and her client's motives are more sinister than she suspected.

Weaving rich historical detail and astounding fact into a fast-paced suspense-fiction ride, The Map Thief is an incredible entr e to the murky underworld of stolen artifacts and the thieves and traders who broker them. From Hong Kong to the Italian countryside, from Lisbon to the remote reaches of Communist China, and literally around the world on the ships of 15th-century explorers, Heather Terrell takes readers on a globe-trotting adventure of epic proportions.

Heather Terrell worked as a commercial litigator in New York City for over ten years, but she has always been obsessed with myth, lore, and the gap between history and the truth. This interest has led to several loosely factual historical novels (The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, Brigid of Kildare) and the pure-lore Fallen Angel series. Boundary is the companion to Relic and the second installment of The Books of Eva. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family. Visit her online at www.heatherterrell.com.

From the Hardcover edition.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780345494689
ISBN 10	0345494687
Title	The Map Thief
Author	Heather Terrell
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2008-07-29
Number of pages	251
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable