Angels and Demons - Dan Brown - Paperback - 2000

Before The Da Vinci Code took the world by storm, the global phenomenon began here. In Angels & Demons, Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient, underground brotherhood known as the Illuminati, who have stolen a devastating weapon of mass destruction and targeted the heart of the Vatican. Joining forces with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra, Langdon embarks on a frantic, code-breaking hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and deserted cathedrals to stop a catastrophic time bomb.