Father Roger Dowling's latest investigation revolves around the small town of Fox River, Illinois. A local mobster, Vincent O'Toole, has just died and has been buried in the local cemetery. While questions still surround the cause of the gangster's death, someone has been attempting to dig up his grave. And when the town's police finally disinter the coffin, they find it empty." "Who and why would anyone wish to steal the mobsters corpse? And how does this relate to the mysterious death itself? Father Dowling begins to realize that the answers involve a manuscript by an Italian poet, and a love triangle between two very different young men and the woman they both covet.