This article is about the book Angels and Demons, for other meanings, please see the articles on angels and demons.Angels and Demons (2000) by Dan Brown is the lesser known, first novel in the series, followed by The Da Vinci Code.
CERN researcher Leonardo Vetra is found murdered in his secured, private quarters at the research facility. On his chest is branded a symbol— the word "Illuminati". After researching the Internet, Director Maximillian Kohler contacts Professor Langdon, who is an expert on the Illuminati and has written a book on the subject, and requests his assistance in uncovering the murderer.
What Langdon discovers at the murder scene frightens him: the symbol appears to be authentic, and the legendary secret society, long thought to be defunct, seems to have resurfaced. The Illuminati has also appropriated CERN's supply of antimatter, the ultimate weapon, and have their sights on fulfilling a centuries-old dream: to destroy Vatican City.
Time runs short as Langdon and Vetra's adopted daughter, Vittoria, race to stop not only the Vatican's destruction, but to save the life of four cardinals who have been kidnapped by a deadly assassin.
