This book is the third in a loose fiction trilogy dealing with contemporary controversial issues in politics (The Mirror Men), education (The Treadmillers), religion (The Shadow People). The Reverend Sedley, newly appointed incumbent of St Mary's, believes that the Christian Church is in danger of irreversible decline, since it is threatened by a burgeoning secularity, internal and external distrust, and competition from alternative religions seeking to fill the vacuum the Church is leaving behind. He attempts to reverse this decline by redefining the tenets of the Church and questioning its theology; but he succeeds only in alienating the Church hierarchy and his parishioners, while the loyalties of his wife are also tested and are found wanting, resulting in the break-up of his marriage.

The book is a thought-provoking examination of the Church in present-day society and is designed to complement the themes treated in The Mirror Men and The Treadmillers.