A dedicated Jesuit priest, Father Mark Townsend is closely involved with the people of St. Joseph, and the young parishioner's letter sounds desperate. Angelina Sandoval Ybarra is a journalist writing a story about the mysterious end-of-the-world preacher Brother Gabriel, and Father Mark loses no time in heading for Yakima Valley where the faithful are gathering. Brother Gabriel's preaching has drawn flocks of converts, many from the Catholic church. There have been tales of visions of the Virgin Mary, the second coming of Christ, and the Rapture that has already begun. Most disturbing is the mysterious disappearance of dozens of Latino farm workers, supposedly "raptured up into heaven" from a locked room in a sealed building. The priest believes the new religion has all the earmarks of a scam-perhaps a deadly one. And as he digs deeper into the dark mysteries that surround the preacher and his followers, Father Townsend discovers his fears are well founded. For while the believers pray for salvation, someone has made murder a part of the creed.and there's no way to tell the saints from the sinners.