A fundamentalist Jewish sect abducts a pregnant woman hoping to raise a pure child for the priesthood and force the coming of the Messiah.
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FRANK AND EMMA SEARCH FOR ANSWERS WHEN A GROUP OF RELIGIOUS FANATICS KIDNAP A PREGNANT JEWISH WOMAN.
In Brooklyn, New York, a group of masked, hooded figures incapacitate cardiologist Daniel Borenstine with a stun gun and proceed to kidnap his pregnant wife, Jeanie, by placing a chloroform-soaked cloth over her mouth.
Frank and Emma are assigned to investigate the case. Emma discovers that Daniel’s office nurse, Rachel Levinson, left the previous month with the intention of moving out of the country. A short time later, Frank discovers an imprint on the doorframe of the Borenstine’s townhouse. The shape of the imprint indicates that it was a mezuzah—a small ornament containing text from the Torah (the object is attached to the door jam of many Jewish homes). A technician dusts the place where the mezuzah had been, and discovers a „fingerprint” without the usual swirl pattern. Emma and Frank search through Rachel Levinson’s empty apartment. They uncover a partially painted piece of a broken pot that contains symbols of a bleeding sword and a sacrificial scene. It also becomes clear that a group of interwoven figure-eights is, in actuality, a series of ouroboros. Frank tells Emma that the symbol is quite ancient, and not necessarily connected to the Millennium Group. He accesses the FBI’s research library for more information on the symbols. It turns out that the iconography is pre-Christian, and relates to the First and Second temples. The temples were destroyed, and to this day, fanatics wish to rebuild a Third temple on the same spot. According to prophecy, once the Temple is rebuilt, the Messiah will appear. Doing so, however, might trigger a war, as a group of mosques occupy the land.
Meanwhile, inside an abandoned Russian bathhouse, Moses Gourevitch and his acolyte, Rachel Levinson, prepare to deliver Jeanie’s baby. The pair speak in Hebrew, peppered with an occasional word in English. They lower Rachel into a mineral bath, and she gives birth to a healthy child. Despite Jeanie’s pleas, Gourevitch ushers the baby away. Later, Gourevitch instructs Rachel to quiet Jeanie. Rachel injects Jeanie with a sedative. Her unconscious form is later found on the porch of the Borenstine’s townhouse.
Jeanie is transported to the hospital, where it is positively determined that Rachel is one of the kidnappers. During the discussion, Daniel reveals that he was approached by someone from the Millennium Group. Frank reviews the hospital’s video surveillance footage… and realizes the visitor was Peter Watts. When Emma learns of this, she concludes that Watts participated in the kidnapping. Frank warns her not to jump to conclusions. Meanwhile, back at the bathhouse, Gourevitch accuses Rachel of letting Jeanie escape. Rachel denies this is so. Gourevitch then asks to see Rachel’s vestment.
Emma and Frank research some of the clues in the case. The unusual fingerprint pattern turns out to be artificial skin developed in Israel to treat burn victims (used by the kidnappers to hide their fingerprints). They also examine photographs of radical groups, and discover Temple symbols (the sword, the sacrifices, the ouroboros) on the shoulder of one member. That man is identified as Moses Gourevitch. A short time later, Frank realizes that Jeanie’s maiden name was Cohen, a descendant of the Kohain tribe, a people who were traditional priests. Frank concludes that the radicals will raise the child to become a priest who will serve in the third Temple—and where he will welcome the Messiah. Later, he tells Jeanie and Daniel that the baby was birthed in water to keep him unpolluted (as the earth holds the dead). Jeanie then recalls some of the English words spoken by cult members: „sandwich,” „mirror” and „subway.”
Rachel decides to go to the FBI. But before she can enter the Bureau’s building, she is abducted by cult members and taken to Mount Moriah Park. There, she is found guilty of betraying her cause. Tribunal members stone her to…
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