The Arthurian legends of the Middle Ages depict the Holy Grail as Jesus Christ's cup from the Last Supper, which was believed to have been endowed with miraculous healing powers; a much earlier tradition, however, claimed that the Grail was the vessel used by Mary Magdalene to collect Christ's blood when he appeared to her after rising from the tomb. Consulting a wide variety of historical and literary texts, Graham Phillips follows the chalice from the Holy Land to 5th century Rome, and on to medieval Britain, to uncover the secret legacy of an ancient noble family over generations, and a trail of clues hidden in the English countryside that lead to a mysterious grotto, a forgotten attic, and the chalice itself.