The Shroud of Turin — claimed to be the burial cloth of Christ — is stolen from a chapel in the cathedral of Turin in the fall of 2004. The Shroud is probably the most famous relic in the Catholic Church — even if perhaps a fake. The thieves leave only one obscure clue: The relic will head off a disaster. Beyond the identity and grand design of the thieves lies an opportunistic plan to tilt the Catholic Church eastward — again.