Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel, and she learns she will bear the son of God. Deeply troubled, and unable to tell Joseph of her dream, she travels to see her cousin Elisabeth, who is also mysteriously with child. Thomas the shepherd begs for more time to pay his taxes, but instead he has to watch as his animals are slaughtered before his eyes. Frustrated by the Magi Council's reluctance to investigate the celestial conjunction, Balthasar, Melchior and Gaspar resolve to set out on their own. They head west, towards Judaea.