In 1776 Vienna, imperial counselor Henryk Klein investigates allegations that the charismatic Jewish nobleman Jakub Frank is a fraud whose sect has ruined Galician Jew Jakub Goliński’s family and fortunes. As Klein’s inquiry uncovers Frank’s secret militia, escalating influence, and suspected treason against Empress Maria Theresa’s court, he must decide how far to expose the messianic impostor without igniting sectarian unrest.