The Eight

The Eight, published 1988, is American author Katherine Neville's debut novel. It is an adventure/quest novel in which the heroine, computer whiz Catherine Velis, must enter into a cryptic world of danger and conspiracy in order to recover the pieces of a legendary chess set once owned by Charlemagne and buried for one thousand years. A sequel, The Fire, appeared in 2008. Plot summary The Eight features two intertwined storylines set two centuries apart. The first takes place in the 1970s and follows American computer expert Catherine "Cat" Velis as she is sent to Algeria for a special assignment. The second is set in the 1790s and revolves around Mireille, a novice nun at Montglane Abbey, in the French Pyrenees. The fates of both characters are interwoven as they try to unravel the mystery behind the Montglane Service, a chess set that holds the key to a game of unlimited power. A gift from the Moors to Emperor Charlemagne, these pieces have been hunted fervently throughout the years by those seeking ultimate control. In the throes of the French Revolution, Mireille and her cousin Valentine must help in dispersing the pieces of the chess set to keep them out of the wrong hands. However, when Valentine is brutally murdered in the Reign of Terror, Mireille is thrown into the midst of men and women who would pursue power at any cost, including Napoleon, Robespierre, Talleyrand, Catherine the Great, and more. She comes to realize she must rely on her own intuition and tenacity to accomplish her goal.