After years of writing satirical political novels, the author of Losing Mum and Pup decided that American politics were sufficiently self-satirizing, and turned his attention to this colorful fictional adventure set in the no-less chaotic Holy Roman Empire of the 16th century. The relic hunter Dismas procures "authentic" religious artifacts for wealthy and influential clients, and with his artist friend Albrecht Dürer, manufactures a shroud to sell to an unsuspecting noble. When their imposture is discovered, Dismas and Dürer are sent by the irate buyer with four mercenaries to steal what is allegedly the real burial cloth of Christ; along the way, they will tangle with a lusty count, a beautiful apothecary, and a rival seeker of false relics.

"An inspired piece of literary gymnastics [that] tumbles into an exuberant adventure caper ... so tightly written that it holds the reader till the very last page.... A smart, tart, well-researched romp into one of history's most irresistibly grubby and outrageous periods of excess."—New York Times Book Review

"[Christopher] Buckley hasn't abandoned political satire at all—he's just found a different playing field for his favorite sport. The calamitous 16th century proves a supple mistress for this Washington writer.... Lively, entertaining and occasionally educational."—Washington Post