In the aftermath of World War II, Father Lancaster Merrin finds himself in the remote Turkana region of Kenya. Haunted by memories of the war, he has taken a sabbatical from the priesthood and journeyed far from his native Holland. He has come to lead the archaeological excavation of a mysterious Bzyantine church, buried in pristine condition as if on the day it was built. Directly beneath the church Merrin finds a much more ancient crypt - and finds himself face-to-face with unspeakable Evil. Madness descends on the nearby villagers and on the British soldiers sent to guard the site. Merrin watches helplessly as the atrocities of war are re-enacted against the innocent villagers - atrocities he had hoped he would never witness again. But the horror has only just begun...