Prologue and Chapters 1-10 Summary

Angels & Demons brings an ancient secret organization, the Illuminati, and the Vatican together in a present-day battle for control. Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon must join forces with scientist Vittoria Vetra in a frantic race to save the Vatican from a powerful bomb which threatens to destroy it and the cardinals who have gathered within the Sistine Chapel to elect the next Pope. Their journey takes them across Rome and into cathedrals, secret archives and the Illuminati lair. Along the way, they uncover many secrets, including who is responsible for the threat to the Vatican. In the end, they save the Vatican and the cardinals from harm.

Leonardo Vetra smells burning flesh and knows that it is his own. A dark figure looms over him, demanding the password. Vetra cries that there is no password. The figure produces...