A mystical thriller in the best traditions of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Mysteries of the Forest.”
Seventeen years ago
In the deep dark night, a young woman—rejected by all the residents of her village—dies on a bloody bed. A half-smile plays on her tortured face; her gaze is fixed on the forest washed in moonlight. The girl’s final words, which the midwife hears after giving birth to the unfortunate child, are: “A curse… a little curse, like she said.” And then, a nauseating, bubbling laughter spreads throughout the house, foretelling an inevitable catastrophe.
Our time
Young Immanuэль does her best to live by the laws of the Church and follow the Holy Scripture. She must not doubt the need for strict rules—after all, it was here, on the outskirts of Bethlehem, that the first Prophet
defeated powerful witches and cleansed the land of Evil. A twist of fate lures Immanuэль into the forbidden forest, where she is given the diaries of her dead mother and learns the truth about the Church’s real history. Determined, she begins to act—because the real threat to Bethlehem is not faraway evil forces, but those living nearby every day.