Abruzzo, Italy, around 1270 a.C. A countess leaves to her daughter Iacovella, a mysterious object of big value. It’s cause of their misfortune. Pietro, an hermit monk, will deliver the object to the Pope. Placido, one elderly Templar monk, is coming back from Holy Land; he is searching for Pietro, to show him some relics. Iacovella, before giving the object to the monk, she couldn’t stand to watch it, remaining influenced by it. The girl persuades her brothers, to recover the object. They reach Pietro and take the objet from him, leaving the monk tied into a deep cleft. Inside there Pietro finds another hermit, Romualdo, who’s been living in the cleft for two years.