Three popes have died within a year; foul play has not been eliminated. The Vatican is in total chaos. Cloistered for more than two months, the conclave of cardinals is gripped by discord and indecision.

But, on the seventy-ninth day, white smoke finally appears above the Sistine chapel. For the first time in one thousand years, a layman-from the United States-will lead the church. Before the smoke clears, it is obvious the papacy, and the world, will never be the same.

Conclave Conspiracy carries readers into the heart of the Vatican, and around the world, to follow the inspirational celebrity Pope James as he shatters long-held positions and fundamentally transforms the image of the Bishop of Rome.

But not everyone is happy. Cardinal Manoles Sicoli, a fundamental doctrinaire who has long had his own eyes on the Papacy, fears James will end the Catholic Church as he knows it and concludes the new pope is the antichrist. Sicoli will stop at nothing to terminate James's reign.

A suspense thriller, both timely and relevant, Conclave Conspiracy will appeal to those who hope for change in the church, and those intrigued or perplexed by the Catholic Church's present position and image.