The Third Spike is book two of the Michael Turner trilogy, taking off where "The Carpenter's Chalice" ends.
Turner was finally able to sit back and enjoy life. After all, he had just helped his fiancé Melissa avenge the death of her archeologist father by capturing his murder, Heinrich Himmler, and at the same time retrieve the Chalice of Christ, the most sought-after artifact of the Western World. But when the Ark of the Covenant also conveniently surfaces in Damascus, Melissa's mother informs him that her deceased husband had once told her that he had read an ancient scroll that seemed to suggest that if the two artifacts were ever combined by the Anti-Christ, the end of days clock would begin to tick.
The disturbing news, along with Himmler's escape from prison and the disappearance of the two priceless artifacts sends Turner and Melissa on an urgent mission to penetrate the sacred walls of the Vatican in hopes of reading the Testament of Andrew, the writings of a little known disciple that supposedly included a description of The Third Key, the one thing on earth that could possible stop the clock's progression. But the Vatican is extremely leery of people who seek permission to enter La Camera del Papa, the most secret vault in the Vatican Archives, especially those supporting theories contrary to the teachings of the church. Will Turner and Melissa be able to decode the meaning of the Third Key and find it before Himmler can unleash the combined power of the Chalice and the Ark, or will Himmler prevail and use the treasured Christian artifacts to fulfill his evil ambitions?