A Quest for Love
A Dashing Explorer
In a true story of star-crossed lovers, the gallant Captain Montagu Parker vowed to find the Lost Ark of the Covenant to win the hand of a beautiful American socialite. A war hero, this English nobleman dreamed of finding true love by solving the mystery of the Lost Ark’s hiding place.
A Scandalous Beauty
Celebrated as one of the most beautiful women of her era, Ava Astor had promised Captain Parker that he could win her affections by fulfilling this ancient quest. Smitten by her charms, the dashing captain ignored the rumors about Ava’s affairs and dreamed of winning her hand by finding the world’s greatest lost treasure.
A Mystical Poet
Arriving in Jerusalem in 1909, Captain Parker began his search for the Lost Ark with the help of a mystical Swedish poet. Claiming to have deciphered a secret code in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel revealing the Lost Ark’s location, the poet Valter Juvelius promised Parker that this ancient artifact could be found near the spring known to Christians as Mary’s Pool.
Broken Dreams
After two years of exploration, Captain Parker despaired of Juvelius’ promises. But after leading a nighttime raid on a Muslim shrine rumored to hold the Lost Ark, Parker returned to England in disgrace. By now wealthy from a divorce settlement and her ex-husband’s subsequent demise on the Titanic, Astor rejected his romantic advances.