Acre, 1291. The last Crusader city in the Holy Land is about to fall. Two Knights Templar, obeying the grandmaster s orders, manage to escape the invading Muslim army on the order s last ship. New York City, nowadays. During the unveiling of an exhibition of some of the Vatican s treasures, four men disguised as Templars attack the Metropolitan Museum and steal several artefacts, including a centuries-old decoder a loss that horrifies the Church."