Father Mike Lance relishes his role as assistant pastor of St. Olaf Catholic Church in Minneapolis. As a volunteer chaplain at the local medical center, he is witness to many a sordid tale. But when a gunshot victim dies in his arms, his calming hand and soothing ways are put to the test. For the man reveals something that has baffled the country for nearly four decades.

When the victim's daughter is thrown into the mix, Father Lance becomes part of an unseemly arrangement, for the seal of the confessional might surely be compromised. Finding himself involved in a mystery so compelling he cannot turn away, puts not only his priesthood in jeopardy but his life as well. He will need the grace of all heaven to see him safely through and then some, for what's that old expression..."God helps those who help themselves"?