When a deaf-mute boy is found horribly murdered in a mock crucifixion, Lieutenant Kinderman sees it not only as a crime but as a larger mystery: whether or not a merciful God can exist if He allows such monstrous evil. His investigation leads him to a cast of unusual suspects: An elderly woman who witnessed the crime, a neurologist grieving the loss of his wife, a psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor, and a mysterious mental patient locked in silent isolation.

As the detective follows a bewildering trail that links these individuals, he confronts a new enigma at every turn. Why does each victim suffer the same dreadful mutilations? Why are two of the victims priests? Is there a connection between these crimes and another series of murders that took place twelve years ago? To discover the answers and solve the case, Lieutenant Kinderman will have to grapple with the ultimate mystery of faith.