Modern Arthur

More than 1,500 years after his disappearance into the mists of Avalon, King Arthur has returned. This time, he's prepared to rule the Camelot of a new millennium: New York City. Handsome, charismatic Arthur Penn is running for mayor on a platform of common sense, humor, and knightly virtues. His advisors include a gifted ten-year-old named Merlin; Percival, an immortal accountant; and Gwen, a lovely young woman with no end of problems. Their grassroots campaign steadily gains strength until scandal looms with the sudden emergence of Morgan Le Fay, Arthur's sorceress half-sister, and her son Mordred, the aspiring mayor's ambitious heir.

Arthur Pendragon, the Once and Future King, has pursued his political career all the way to the White House. Then tragedy strikes, in the form of an assassination attempt that leaves his wife Gwen at death's door. To save her, Arthur must once again seek the Holy Grail, the Cup whose magical powers can heal her body and soul... And as Arthur knows from experience, grail-hunting can be a very dangerous occupation.

When former first lady Gwen DeVere Queen is discovered to be hale and hearty-after falling victim to a successful (and very public) assassination-the jig is finally up. Arthur Penn, aka King Arthur, reveals his true identity, and the existence of the Holy Grail, to the world. Unable to cope with the sick and dying who desperately entreat him to heal them with the power of the Grail, Arthur accepts an offer from an entrepreneur with a new approach to health care: siphon water through the Grail, bottle it, and sell it as a curative. Flooding the market, Grail Water becomes the hottest-selling commodity in the history of humanity. Unfortunately, it's also tainting the very purpose of the holy cup's existence-and Arthur may soon discover exactly how the road to hell is paved with good intentions.