The Charlemagne Pursuit is Steve Berry's seventh novel, and is the fourth adventure for the former U.S. Justice Department operative turned antiquarian book dealer, Cotton Malone.

The story follows Malone in his attempt to find details of his father's death.

His father, Forrest Malone, was a US Navy officer who disappeared while on a mission on an experimental submarine in 1971.

The search is complicated by Admiral Langford Ramsey, who attempts to hide his involvement with a second submarine that was sent to find Forest Malone and his crew.

Stephanie Nelle, Malone's ex-boss, and Edwin Davis, the (Deputy National Security Advisor), become involved while searching for Charlie Smith, a killer hired by Ramsey to eradicate any links to him.