The Secret of Secrets

Robert Langdon wakes in a hotel in Prague next to Katherine Solomon, his longtime friend and new lover, the morning after Solomon’s sold-out lecture on consciousness. Langdon introduced the talk by identifying the world’s most common religious symbol: the halo. During her talk, Solomon argued that artistic depictions of halos are proof of humanity’s long-held interest in consciousness.

After killing Gessner, the Golem wanders through the streets of Prague, hoping to get home before “the Ether” (18) overtakes him. He rubs a metal wand on his forehead to push off the attack. Meanwhile, in London, an American named Finch grows anxious when he cannot reach Gessner.

As Langon runs through Prague, he attributes his romance with Solomon to the magic of the city. Meanwhile, the Golem gags himself and enters a secret sanctuary within his home to begin a ceremony.

On the Charles Bridge, Langdon sees a woman wearing a spiked halo and holding a silver spear. He panics and runs back to his hotel, the Four Seasons, where he pulls a fire alarm. When he cannot find Solomon, he jumps from their suite into the Vltava River.

Langdon successfully swims back to shore, troubled by the vision of the woman, which he cannot explain. Hotel security escort Langdon to his suite, where he finds a note from Solomon explaining that she has walked to a pre-scheduled meeting with Brigita Gessner.

The Golem experiences the Ether, which allows him to see the truth of reality and to escape the temporary prison of his body. With his apartment lit by black lights, the Golem lights a candle at an altar dedicated to the unnamed charge he has sworn to protect, who has recently taken a new lover.

In New York City, Random House editor Jonas Faukman prepares to read the completed manuscript of a new book by Katherine Solomon, which promises to revolutionize noetic science. He is interrupted by a staffer who announces that the secure server on which Solomon stored the manuscript has been hacked.

Langdon is convinced that the woman he saw outside the Four Seasons was the same woman who appeared in Solomon’s dream the night before, warning the hotel would explode. Ironically, Solomon’s lecture that night featured evidence of pre-cognition. Police reveal that a bomb had been found and diffused in the hotel that morning.

Although golems appear across Jewish mythology, the most popular version of the story takes place in Prague. The golem was a human figure created from mud to protect Prague’s Jewish population, but was destroyed when its creator erased a character from the word carved into its forehead, transforming the Hebrew word for truth into the Hebrew word for death.

Captain Oldřich Janáček of the Czech Office for Foreign Relations and Information (known in Czech as UZSI) questions Langdon about his actions under the watchful eye of American diplomat Michael Harris. Harris warns Langdon that Harris likely knows the truth already, given Prague’s extensive surveillance system.

In New York, Faukman panics when he realizes Solomon’s manuscript has been deleted from both of the publisher’s secure servers. Meanwhile, in London, Mr. Finch is so disturbed by Gessner’s silence and an unnamed action by Solomon that he orders field agents in New York and Prague to execute a predetermined mission.

Janáček accuses Langdon and Solomon of planting the bomb in order to create publicity for her book’s arguments about precognition. Langdon hesitates to tell Janáček where Solomon is and is shocked when Harris reveals the location of Gessner’s lab.

Privately, Harris explains to Langdon that he revealed the location of the lab to avoid an obstruction of justice charge. Harris leaves for the embassy to secure more help. In recent months, he has been working an under-the-table job for the ambassador, and he worries that the decision will haunt him.

The Golem struggles to process the information he tortured out of Gessner the previous night: an atrocity built underground that would enable him to take down Gessner and her partners. He enters the Hotel U Prince to search for more information at the Black Angel’s Bar.

It is revealed that Faukman printed a copy of Solomon’s manuscript as soon as he received it. He takes the manuscript to a nearby copy shop to secure a digital copy away from the Random House servers. Meanwhile, security technician Alex Conan tries to find the source of the hack.

Janáček drives Langdon to the Crucifix Bastion, the site of the Gessner Institute. Janáček warns Langdon that he plans to interrogate Solomon alone. Privately, Langdon recalls how Gessner had bragged after Solomon’s lecture about having the financial autonomy to pursue any research she wants.

Faukman is kidnapped on his way to the copy shop. Meanwhile, Alex Conan tries desperately to contact Faukman with news about the hack. When he can’t, Conan decides to break protocol and contact Solomon directly. As a last resort, Conan calls Langdon, who also doesn’t answer.

In London, Everett Finch receives confirmation that his missions are ongoing. Finch is the director of a project called Threshold, run by an organization called Q. Finch worked at Q’s mysterious parent organization for decades before being tapped to lead Threshold with complete immunity. Meanwhile, the Golem uses a computer at the Black Angel bar to research a weapon to help him steal another weapon from Gessner’s lab.

At the Gessner lab, Janáček rings for entry and flashes his badge at a security camera several times, but no one answers. He calls Solomon, who does not answer. Finally, Janáček orders his lieutenant, Pavel, to shoot at the glass door and forcibly enter the building.

At the American Embassy, Czech staffer Dana Daněk is confused when her office fling, Harris, asks her to search a database of 1,100 cameras, part of the American-backed security project Echelon, for a woman wearing a spiked crown on the Charles Bridge.

Janáček searches the lab for Solomon and Gessner, leaving Langdon in front of a sculpture by Paul Evans. While studying the piece, Langdon has a realization but decides not to act on it in front of Janáček. Elsewhere, the Golem travels to Gessner’s lab to find a key to enter the site of Threshold’s secret weapon.

It is revealed that Lieutenant Pavel is Captain Janáček’s nephew. Pavel leaves Langdon alone briefly to use the toilet and find Janáček. While he is gone, Langdon pushes aside the statue, which he correctly assumed was a hidden doorway. Langdon hides in the hidden alcove, which he realizes is an elevator bank.

Faukman’s kidnappers interrogate him brutally and demand to know if any other printed copies of Solomon’s manuscript exist. Faukman attempts to lie, but the kidnappers use an AI tool to determine he is lying. Meanwhile, Alex Conan begins to believe a Random House author may already be dead.

Langdon recalls how Gessner bragged about the complex encrypted password to her laboratory elevator. Langdon began decoding it that night, and finishes the process quickly in the elevator, realizing that it is simply the first six digits of pi with the letter S in the middle.

The object of the Golem’s obsession is revealed to be Katherine Solomon. The Golem believes that his very existence proves Solomon’s arguments about consciousness to be true. He is shocked to find UZSI officers at the Gessner Institute and decides to get rid of them quickly.

Unaware that Langdon has escaped, Janáček celebrates his arrest. He hopes the arrest of two prominent Americans will boost his reputation and push back at American dominance in the city. However, Janáček soon receives a phone call from the American ambassador that shakes him to his core.

Langdon searches for Solomon the facility basement. He finds neuroimaging and virtual reality machines but little evidence of what the lab researches. The last room is loud and noisy, with blueprints and whirring machines everywhere. He finds Katherine’s body in a mechanical pod in the center of the room.