Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Gideon Crew--brilliant scientist, master thief, and intrepid adventurer--is on the trail of a centuries-old stone tablet that will either save his life or bring it to a sudden, shocking close.

Gideon Crew--brilliant scientist, master thief, intrepid adventurer--is shocked when his former employer, Eli Glinn, vanishes without a trace, and Glinn's high-tech lab Effective Engineering Solutions shuts down seemingly overnight. Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Crew is contacted by one of his former coworkers at EES, Manuel Garza, who has a bead on one final treasure hinted at in EES's final case, the long-awaited translation of a centuries-old stone tablet of a previously undiscovered civilization: The Phaistos Disc. What lies at the end of the trail will either save Gideon's life--or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. Crew once again faces incredible odds--but as Gideon has proved again and again, there's no such thing as too great a risk when you're living on borrowed time. The high-tech lab Effective Engineering Solutions is working on the translation of a centuries-old stone tablet of a previously undiscovered civilization: the Phaistos Disc. Gideon Crew is contacted by a former coworker, Manuel Garza, who now works at EES. Their former employer, Eli Glinn, has vanished without a trace, shutting down the project. Fresh off a diagnosis that gives him only months to live, Crew joins Garza in a last ditch effort to decode the Disc. What they discover will either save Gideon's life-- or bring it to a sudden, shocking close. -- adapted from jacket.

When his former employer goes missing, Gideon Crew, reeling from his terminal diagnosis, pursues the long-awaited translation of the Phaistos Disc, an ancient tablet that could end or save his life.