It's dawn on October 13, 2007, in a grand walled residence in Paris, France.

Jacques de Morlais sleeps soundly in his bed.

Although Jacques is in his 60s, he's in good health.

He's the grand master of the Knights Templar, a powerful

and wealthy religious order of the Catholic Church. Jacques has given a lifetime of service to the

order. He's become so important that yesterday he was given the honor of

acting as a pallbearer at a royal funeral, that of Catherine of Courtney, sister-in-law, the French

king, Philip the fourth. But Philip is wary of the influence that Jacques wields.

The relationship between the Templars and the French crown is strained.

Jacques wakes suddenly.

Someone is pounding on the door to his bedchamber.

So he rises and opens the door to a concerned looking fellow knight who tells Jacques they're

under attack. Herodly,, Jock follows the night downstairs and out into the courtyard, where shouts from the

street beyond the walls echo through the early morning.

But before Jock can ask who's making such a racket, the gates to the Templar compound

are forced open and a stream of heavily armed men charges into the courtyard.

A few Templar knights try to stand in their way, but the strangers quickly

subdue them. Then one of the armed men spots Jacques's distinctive bald head

and full beard, pointing in his direction.

Strangers move menacingly toward Jacques and order him to surrender.

Jacques's eyes blaze with anger as he tells them to leave the holy ground of the Knights Templar,

warning them that his order is under the protection of the Pope

...