Parson's daughter Mara Johns arrives as a postgraduate student at a great northern cathedral city. Antagonistic to the church and fiercely independent, she repels all friendly overtures and seeks spiritual answers in her theological research. "It is a real pleasure to find what many readers are always on the lookout for: a new and original writer of a rattling good story told with intelligence and depth." The Tablet Parson's daughter Mara Johns arrives as a postgraduate student at a great northern cathedral city. Antagonistic to the church and fiercely independent, she repels all friendly overtures and seeks spiritual answers in her theological research.

But when her past involvement in an extreme sect resurfaces, she finds her quest won't stay academic. Nor can she hold out against her persistent would-be friends.