Origin Robert Langdon, Harvard professor of symbology, arrives at the ultramodern Guggenheim Museum Bilbao to attend the unveiling of a discovery that will change the face of science forever. The evenings host is Edmond Kirsch, a forty-year-old billionaire and futurist, and one of Langdons first students. But the meticulously orchestrated evening suddenly erupts into chaos, and Kirschs precious discovery teeters on the brink of being lost forever. Facing an imminent threat, Langdon is forced to flee.