Ayesha Ryder bears the scars of strife in the Middle East. Now her past is catching up with her as she races to unravel a mystery that spans centuries--and threatens to change the course of history.

As Israeli and Palestinian leaders prepare to make a joint announcement at the Tower of London, an influential scholar is tortured and murdered at his home in St. John’s Wood. Academic researcher Ayesha Ryder believes it is no coincidence. Sir Evelyn Montagu had unearthed shocking revelations about T. E. Lawrence, the famed Lawrence of Arabia. Could he have been targeted because of his discoveries?

Ryder’s search for answers takes her back to her old life in the Middle East and into a lion’s den of killers and traitors. As she draws the attention of agents on both sides of the conflict--including detectives from Scotland Yard and operatives from MI5--Ryder finds herself stumbling across Lawrence’s secrets, an astounding case of royal blackmail, and even the search for the Bible’s Ark of the Covenant.

Every step of the way, the endgame grows more terrifying. When an attack rocks London, the real players show their hand--and Ayesha Ryder is left holding the final piece of the puzzle.

Traitor’s Gate is Nicholas Pengelley’s first novel. An Australian by birth, Nicholas has had a varied career in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom – as a law professor, law librarian, and analyst on Middle East politics, a field about which he is passionate. Nicholas currently works as a consultant on Australasian law. He lives in Toronto with his wife Pamela and blogs at www.nicholaspengelley.com.

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