A cult has formed in the wealthy oceanfront community of east point, rhode island. they call themselves essenes, drawing their name from a religious, communal brotherhood that existed along the dead sea during the time of christ. this new sect's mission, based on a series of recently discovered ancient scrolls, is to release their god from his prison, a prison which they believe to be a comet that passes the earth once every one thousand years. leading the essenes is seth grey, a ruthless and power hungry man who will kill in order to bring the prophecy of the scrolls to fulfillment. jack bennett is a college senior at a small school in maryland. one day he receives a disk containing a translation of an ancient scroll from his parents, archeologists working on a dig along the shore of the dead sea. soon, jack finds himself on the run as people around him begin to die. seth grey and the essenes have come for their translation. also pulled into the world of the essenes are a budding journalist whose first big story could be her last, and a classics professor from yale, who happens to have the scroll the essenes want.