Narrated in alternate chapters by Edmund Mueller and his daughter, Anne, The Book of Mercy weaves a small web of enchanting tales. There's the story of Edmund's childhood, his marriage to a woman named Fanny who left unexpectedly after their second child, and Edmund's futile retreat into the world of magical arts. Then there's Anne, who leaves to study psychiatry, and her brother, a missionary in the Third World. They are bound together by Kathleen Cambor's elegant hand and graceful eye, and by the novel's arching themes of forgiveness and renewal.