Hoping for an exciting life abroad, Daniel Darrow crosses the Atlantic to serve as the assistant reverend at a small church in the Scottish Highlands capital of Inverness. Fresh out of seminary, he feels he is ready for anything - until he meets his new parish. Church Street Kirk, or the Holy Redundancy as locals call it, is steeped in gossip over the recent arson of a historic manor. When a body is found amongst the ashes, Daniel soon finds that no one is above suspicion, least of all the good people of Church Street.

When Daniel's curiosity puts him in bad graces with his own parish and the local police, he must find the real murderer or risk losing the admiration of a bonny young parishioner, not to mention his job. His quest for truth takes him on a journey across Scotland, from the Outer Hebrides to Edinburgh, where he uncovers a dark secret, festering for centuries, that threatens to rock the whole of Inverness.