The story opens with the Annunciation: Mary, a young woman from Galilee, conceives the Messiah, the Son of God, while still a virgin. Her husband Joseph, a humble carpenter, chooses to remain with her through it all. When Caesar Augustus decrees that the Jews must be registered, the couple travels to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born. In parallel, Mary Magdalene, a young woman from Mary's hometown, turns her back on God and enters the palace of King Herod, where Herodias persuades her to surrender her innocence to the king's son.