Not Vain to Believe

Title: Not Vain to Believe Genre: TV Drama Logline: The "lost quatrains" of Nostradamus are at last discovered in an accidental archeological find. Yet their discovery touches off a series of bizarre and dangerous events. Pilot Summary Mia Freer, a brilliant but rambunctious American college student studying at the ancient University of Montpelier in France is one day approached by her nemesis, the officious Professor Cheryl Tefertiller. To Mia surprise, Cheryl does not reprimand her, but asks for her help. She informs Mia that the "lost quatrains" of Nostradamus were accidentally discovered in Salon de Provence. Mia's wunderkind linguistic skills and knowledge of period languages are imperative to decipher Nostradamus' unique calligraphy. Not a believer in what she calls Nostradamus "nonsense", Mia stalks away and forgets the whole affair. Yet later that evening she is approached at a bar by a mysterious man known only as "Ishmael", who strangely knows about the find, and even more strangely knows a great deal about Mia. Ishmael implores Mia to move forward with the project, and, though unnerved by Ishmael's overtures, she decides to go through with it. Poor Mia soon finds out she has bit off much more than she can chew. The quatrains of Nostradamus which she wrote off as "nonsense" start to make clear and frightening sense to her. She finds herself being followed by shadowy figures intent on destroying her research and her. And throughout the entire series we will cut away frequently to intercalary scenes from the complex life of Nostradamus himself, and see the genesis of all his mysterious prophecies. "Not Vain to Believe" could be dismissed as another work using the name "Nostradamus" as a cheap ploy to attract attention, but in reality the series will take a heartfelt look at the problem of modernity, and the sobering nature of history itself.