Narrated by his daughter-in-law, Angel, the story pivots around Bishop Timothy Archer, ex-lawyer, ex-alcoholic and now America's most charismatic church leader. The language is earthy at times and incidents crackle with humour and vitality as he searches for belief through reason. Religious fanaticism is taken to the point where it annihilates the three people most dear to Angel. She is left cynical about the validity of religious truth through knowledge, divine or otherwise.