In the arid canyonlands of Mexico the race is on for the ultimate end-of-the-world codex—the final 1000-year-old prophesy of the god-king, Quetzalcoatl, who ruled Mexico 1000 years ago. Rita Critchlow and Cooper Jones hunt for that sacred codex in those scorching desert canyons, while 500 years ago, Pacal, a young slave-scholar, sets out on the same deadly quest. He too must find those apocalyptic writings, knowing that his era—the Age of the Aztecs—may well come to an end if he does not find them.  For Pacal, the End-Time is at hand. Montezuma has built a vast empire based in what will one day be Mexico City. Now, however, he faces war, disastrous drought, death-cult priests, who rip the hearts out of thousands of people atop their pyramids.
