The Physician

Robert Cole grows up in England in the 11th century. When his mother bends over from a side sickness, Rob knows he has a special gift; he senses his mother's life is endangered. He tries to get the barber-surgeon (Stellan Skarsgård) to come and help his mother but it's too late: his mother dies. Rob's long odyssey searching for a cure for the illness that took his mother away from him begins. Rob (Tom Payne) and the barber-surgeon travel across the country together. After the barber-surgeon is injured, Rob watches a Jewish doctor perform an operation, and decides to go to Persia, where one of the wisest physicians of all times, Ibn Sina (Ben Kingsley), teaches. The journey to Isfahan takes over a year, and he knows the Islamic kingdom refuses entry to Christians; apart from believers in the Koran, only Jews are tolerated. However, Rob doesn't let this deter him and transforms himself as a Jew. On his long journey, he meets Rebecca (Emma Rigby), who is traveling with a caravan. She is also on her way to Isfahan. They get separated, and he reaches Isfahan alone. Rob can finally attend the first lecture by Ibn Sina and he quickly becomes one of his promising students. He gets to know the foreign world around him including the ruler, the Shah (Olivier Martinez). He also finds out Rebecca didn't die in the sandstorm and she's also in Isfahan, about to be married to another man. The plague arrives Isfahan and the deadly disease spreads. Only Ibn Sina and his students fight against the plague. Most of the people soon die and only a few, such as Rebecca, survive the infection. Rob discovers an important detail that ends up curing the plague and is a hero. However, the forbidden love story between Rob and Rebecca comes to a head and they are about to be executed. They appear before the shah, who is suffering from an acute case of "side sickness" and Rob manages to remove the inflamed appendix. Saved but weakened, the shah let's them all go free.