Padgham knows the artifact was purchased on the black market, but hopes to be able to establish the provenance in a way that will secure the piece for the museum and allow himself a nice piece of scholarship. Padgham decides he wants to email a copy of the photo to his colleague Caedmon Aisquith, who just happens to be in the Washington D.C. area promoting his book on the Egyptian god Isis. 

Because the doctor is technologically impaired, Edie offers her assistance, but while she is checking a cable connection under the desk, Padgham is murdered and the artifact is stolen. Edie doesn’t see the face of the murderer but sees his general size and shape and soon realizes he has access to the museum’s security codes and realizes that Edie is still in the building. Of course Edie manages to escape, return home, gather her passport and some hidden cash, contact and meet up with Caedmon to warn him his life is also in danger. 

The unlikely duo quickly form an alliance when they realize there is no one to turn to for help as Edie sees a policeman receive the artifact from the murderer. When she attempts to alert the museum staff to Padgham’s death, she is told that he went to England on personal business and the pair figures out, almost too late, that the coverup is far reaching. Edie and Caedmon realize their only hope of staying alive is to find what their pursuers are seeking, the Ark of the Covenant. 

With little more than their passports and a little cash, the two head for England and finally Malta where they finally learn the breadth -and danger-of what they both have unwittingly become involved in.

Ark of Fire is another in a long line of religious artifact/conspiracy thrillers to recently appear. Edie quickly realizes that she shouldn’t trust the local police, but misses the signs that she should not trust anyone at the museum as well. A shootout at the National Gallery of Art is a little unbelievable given modern security standards. For all appearances that he is a stuffy academic, Caedmon has some MacGuyver-like tricks up his sleeve that are not entirely believable. The pace of the plot is fast if one doesn’t get hung up over coincidences such as the unlikely wielding of an umbrella that saves Edie’s life. The religious fervor and fanaticism is high and, when coupled with a sense of duty learned in the military, adds some tension to the plot. However, knowing most of the players ahead of time takes away from some of the suspense.                                                                

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry