Father Dowling comes to the aid of Gregory Barret, a former classmate who had left the priesthood twenty-five years earlier, when he is sued by a woman alleging that he had sexually exploited her as a child, a case that is complicated by the son she claims is his.

Father Dowling confronts an ethical dilemma when one of his parishioners reveals information in confidence about a troubled marriage, and the parishioner's spouse later becomes the victim of a brutal hit-and-run "accident" that could be murder.

With too many churches and not enough people to fill them, the Archdiocese has to make some cuts, and many of them, including the proposed closing of St. Hilary's are dangeriously close to the bone. Father dowling rushes to drum up support from church officials and parishioners, including the Deveres, who don't want to see the stained glass windows they donated go anywhere other than the church they were meant for, but they can hardly be of help...

A collection of short stories featuring the incomparable Father Dowling. In a sleepy Midwestern town on the banks of the Fox River, he cares for the congregation of St. Hilary Church -- and also finds time to unravel the knottiest of mysteries.