Acre, 1291. The last Crusadercity in the Holy Land is about to fall. TwoKnights Templar, obeying the grandmaster's orders, manage to escape theinvading Muslim army on the order's last ship. New York City, nowadays. During the unveilingof an exhibition of some of the Vatican's treasures, four men disguised asTemplars attack the Metropolitan Museum and steal several artefacts, includinga centuries-old decoder - a loss that horrifies the Church.