Lazarus

Lazarus is the final volume in Morris West's magnificent Vatican trilogy, which began with "The Shoes of the Fisherman" and continued with "The Clowns of God". Leo XIV, Vicar of Christ, is threatened with death - from a heart bypass operation and from a new and mysterious terrorist group, the Sword of Islam. An iron-fisted Pope, he has crushed all dissent in the Church. As he prepares to undergo surgery, speculation spreads like a brush-fire in the Vatican and around the world. Will the Pontiff come back from near-death whole in mind as well as in body? Will he undergo a 'change of heart' that could dismay his hardline supporters and encourage those who fear the Church is in danger of losing its faithful? The terrorist plot encircles not only the Pontiff, but also his Jewish surgeon Salviati, Salviati's beautiful Scandinavion lover and her fragile daughter. The action moves from Rome to the hills north of the city, to a blazing climax in the Irish countryside and in the Basilica of St Peter's.