In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling, a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths. All under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale. As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object, artfully encoded with five symbols--is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation. One meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom. When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon, a prominent Mason and philanthropist--is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations, all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth. As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for his most thrilling novel yet.

美国总统大选在即，共和党总统候选人参议员塞奇威克·塞克斯顿猛烈抨击现任总统的航空航天政策，得到了大多数美国选民的支持，形势对现任总统的连任极为不利。就在这个关键时刻，国家航空航天局向总统报告了一项惊人的科学成果：他们在北冰洋之下有重大发现……这个发现对美国的航空航天政策和迫在眉睫的总统大选都意义重大。 为了证实这项非同小可的发现，总统派遣国家勘测局的情报分析员，同时也是总统竞选对手的千金雷切尔·塞克斯顿前往冰川覆盖、气候恶劣的北极圈，与极富个人魅力的偶像型科学名人迈克尔·托兰以及几位来自不同领域的科学家一道对之进行核查。雷切尔和迈克尔意外地发现了一个不可思议的科学骗局。 还没来得及跟总统取得联系，雷切尔和迈克尔就遭到了三角洲特种部队的几个神秘杀手的袭击。这些杀手被一只企图不顾一切掩盖真相的幕后黑手操纵。雷切尔和迈克尔开始了惊险刺激的逃亡之旅，支撑他们活下来的最后一丝希望就是要查明真相……