With elegant music wafting through the alcoves of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, black-tied gentlemen and white-gowned ladies applaud the unveiling of the Treasures of the Vatican exhibit. Then suddenly--with sabers swinging and Uzis blazzing--four armor-clad hosemen in Templar garb gallop up the museum's steps. Scattering the genteel crowd, they quickly snatch an ancient encoder and ride off into the night. Soon archaeologist Tess Chaykin and anti-terrorist agent Sean Ryan join forces, and sparks begin to fly as they race to unravel an ancient enigma.