Introduction: Chapters 1-2 Summary

Relic is the first of a long collaboration between authors Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. This first novel is set in the Museum of Natural History, once the employer of the author Douglas Preston, allowing a great deal of authenticity to be translated to the page.

In chapter one, Whittlesey is alone with a guide during his expedition into the Amazon Basin. Several of the other scientist with whom Whittlesey originally left New York have gone back to civilization with their discoveries. However, one scientist has disappeared and Whittlesey is determined to go find him. Before he goes, Whittlesey finishes packing up the objects he has discovered and writes a letter to a colleague at the Museum of Natural History. Whittlesey tells of the discoveries he has made, including the discovery of a figurine he believes to be of...