The Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful - and most secretive - of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story - encompassing as it does the greatest international conflict of the Middle Ages, a network of international finance, a swift rise in wealth and influence followed by a bloody and humiliating fall - has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists and conspiracy theorists.  “When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few peers, and in the Templars he finds the perfect subject” - Sunday Times “Another triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist” - Observer “Exhilarating, epic, sword-swinging history” - TLS