The Curse of the Thirty Denarii

Volume I

Following an earthquake in the South of the Peloponnese, a shepherd boy discovered the remains of a Christian Chapel of the fifth century. There are ancient manuscripts and a reliquary in lead. Two weeks later, to the United States, a commando helicopter broke the colonel Olrik in his prison of Jacksonville. The same night, in London, Captain Francis Blake, head of MI5, is made aware of this spectacular escape and goes to the United States to help the FBI track down the criminal. While the Professor Philip Mortimer is found only for his vacation, he receives a letter from the doctor Géorgios Markopoulos, curator of the Archaeological Museum of Athens, inviting them to support him in an extraordinary case.

Quelques days later, Olrik wakes aboard the Arax where he finds his lackey, Jack. The owner of the yacht, the wealthy businessman Belos Beloukian, wants to hire him for a case that oppose it the Pr Mortimer. At the same time, Mortimer lands in Athens where he is greeted by Eleni Philippides, the niece and Assistant to Dr. Markopoulos. While they roll to the Museum, a thug Gets a flat tire from the car of Eleni to delay. But the impromptu arrival of Jim Radcliff, correspondent for the Philadelphia Chronicle and engaged to Eleni, allows them to hit the road. In the Museum, they discover the unconscious Dr. Markopoulos in his office and an individual masked fleeing with a metal box. Mortimer began pursuit of the Lincoln of the two thieves until a thunderstorm suddenly and causes an accident in the car. The Professor retrieves the box as well as a Stater of money of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, putting immediately end to the storm, then returned to the Museum. Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the FBI in Washington, Blake is meeting with John Calloway, Chief of special operations, and her assistant, Jessie Wingo. They have traced the origin of the helicopters of the escape of Olrik until a certain Belos Beloukian, wealthy Armenian businessman and so-called former prisoner of war. However, they suspect it to be the colonel count Rainer von Stahl of SS-Totenkopfverbände whose fortune would be the nazi war chest. In Athens, Dr. Markopoulos Mortimer explains the reason for his coming: he fell in possession of manuscripts indicating that in the 1st century a.d., the leader of a Christian congregation in Greece, named Nicodemus, would have met Judas Iscariot, who failed so his suicide mentioned in the Bible. On the death of the betrayer of Jesus, he sent one of his followers buried it with his 30 pieces of silver to silver in a place unknown to all. However, one of taxpayers affected by the curse of God would have been preserved in a reliquary in lead, crossing the centuries until its discovery in the chapel. At that time, the two men are being targeted by a sniper, but they come out unscathed. The Inspector Kamantis tells them that it's Kostas, the survivor of the accident of the Lincoln who wants to avenge his brother's death. On board the Arax, Beloukian confesses to Olrik to want back the purse of Judas for having the destructive power and become the master of evil on Earth.

In Museum, Eleni says Mortimer missing a manuscript indicating the place of the congregation of Nicodemus. The teacher then decides to return to search the chapel with her. At night, Kostas triggers the Mortimer hotel fire alarm and, disguised as a COP, isolates it in a service staircase in order to kill him, but Mortimer manages to narrowly escape. The Inspector Kamantis so highly advised to leave the city for safety, and in the early morning, Mortimer, Jim and Eleni take a train to the South of the Peloponnese. During the trip, Eleni and Mortimer discuss theories on the origin of the name of Judas the Iscariot. Meanwhile, on a small island in Mediterranean, Olrik between in a room decorated with a large Nazi swastika where Beloukian chairs a meeting vowing to become the masters of the world. Beloukian then confesses to be County colonel Rainer von Stahl and hired him as head of the service of information and security, as it did to Basam Damdu. As a token of his resolution, Olrik runs Kostas on order of Rainer von Stahl.

Après vainly searching the Chapel, Mortimer and Eleni visit the young shepherd, but Olrik and Jack are already on the spot and escape with the manuscript. Mortimer began pursuing them through two compatriots until they are blocked in the village by a herd of sheep. Mortimer catches Olrik and take the manuscript, but Jack arrives and is about to kill him when Jim comes in and puts on the run. Mortimer warns Blake of the presence of Olrik in Greece and Eleni finds that tells their next destination: the island of Syrenios. To get there, Jim offers to use the yacht from the owner of his newspaper, Belos Beloukian, who turns out to know all of their adventures. But on board, Mortimer falls on Olrik and is made prisoner, as Eleni, Jim and Dr. Markopoulos. During the night, the Professor managed to escape the ship with a lifeboat, but it is a trap to Olrik, who pulled out the oars and the food.

Volume II

Mortimer drifting for several days at sea when he is saved by a seaplane with on board Blake, John Calloway, Jessie Wingo and a commando of the MI6. They found the yacht of Beloukian in anchorage off the coast of Syrenios island in the sea of Crete. In the evening, they do it, but it's a trap and Rainer von Stahl, watching them from the side, ordered the launch of a torpedo that destroys his ship. Taking advantage of this moment of inattention, Jim helps Eleni to escape. For their part, Jessie and Mortimer recover members of the commando at the scene of the drama. While they are looking for Blake on board a canoe, the aircraft takes off and abandon them because it is taken for target by another torpedo. After having found Blake, Jessie and Mortimer see Rainer von Stahl and his men board a submarine which has just emerged. The three friends along the coast to the village of Syrenios. In view of the means available to Rainer von Stahl, it is clear to Blake and Jessie that he is supported by an organization such as the Odessa the former SS members. In Syrenios, Blake, Mortimer and Jessie find housing at the patron saint of the village Café. They then have the happy surprise to see Eleni donkey after be escaped. The next day, the four friends go to the unique cave on the island looking for clues of the Christian congregation. They find that a kind of decorative fresco including Mortimer found a copy in the room of the coffee of their landlady. During the night, the teacher eventually understand that a message is hidden in the fresco and deciphers it. The message directs them to the door of Orpheus, traditionally placed in the cave of Acheruse in Epirus, at the other end of the country. A Turkish smuggler agrees to take them on his old boat but once at sea, they have the unpleasant surprise to find Olrik. A struggle is committed during which the smuggler was killed, Olrik falls into the water and the boat takes fire. Blake, Mortimer, Jessie and Eleni build a raft and collects Olrik. The next day, they are saved by the yacht of the same couple of British compatriots had already met Mortimer. They return to Athens but upon their arrival, Olrik has escaped from the boat. In the Embassy of Great Britain, Blake and Mortimer attend a meeting between British, American and Greek intelligence services. It was decided to continue the search for the grave of Judas hoping to exchange his location against the lives of the hostages, Jim and Dr. Markopoulos. Blake and Mortimer visit the cave of Acheruse, in Epirus, with a Greek Counterintelligence agent. At the bottom of the cave, they finally find the grave of Judas and his body intact. At that time, Rainer von Stahl and Olrik appear with Eleni who has betrayed. Mortimer back to the scholarship of the thirty pieces of silver to Rainer von Stahl reluctantly. But at the time where the latter rejoices, the corpse of Judas stands and cursed him. A ray of light envelops Judas who thank the Lord before falling to dust while a lightning strike Rainer von Stahl which takes fire. At the same time, an earthquake erupts and Mortimer, Blake and Eleni flee while Olrik falls into a crevasse. The other survivors were arrested by men of the MI6. With these information, MI6 men take over the fortress of the nazis and release Jim and Dr. Markopoulos, while colonel Georgiopoulos, Director of the Greek counter-intelligence, commits suicide by promising that their time will come.