Broke and greedy, Washington DC art dealer Juliana Petresku discovers an envelop with photographs of four Byzantine mosaics on her gallery floor. All the mosaics are dazzling but the one depicting an archangel becomes especially powerful and important to Juliana. Intrigued and unable to get them out of her mind, especially the archangel, she contacts her ex-boyfriend who'd visited the gallery earlier in the day. After he confirms that they belong to him, she questions him about their provenance, and why he brought them to the US. He tells her they are from an abandoned church in Cyprus and belong to a Turk living in Zurich who needs to sell them.
Juliana is not entirely convinced that this is the entire truth. Her desperate financial situation and her greed, however, make her willing to overlook her reservations and pursue a sale financed by her rich uncle to whom she does not confide any of her misgivings.
In a warehouse outside Zurich, Juliana meets Hassan, the mysterious owner of the mosaics, and views the relics stored in crates amidst a treasure-trove of art and antiquities strewn and piled high everywhere. The mosaics are more striking and beautiful than she imagined based on the photos. The archangel completely captivates her and her obsession with him intensifies. She strikes a deal with Hans and a second middleman and feels very satisfied with herself that she negotiates the much better price of three million compared to the original asking price of five million dollars. Her uncle comes through with the financing and Juliana brings the mosaics home to DC.