The Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller, the Knights Templar were the wealthiest, most powerful, and most secretive of the military orders that flourished in the crusading era. Their story encompasses 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. This has left a comet's tail of mystery that continues to fascinate and inspire historians, novelists, and conspiracy theorists.