There’s only one real taboo left in 21st Century America, and Jack Kassel’s got it bad. He doesn’t believe in God. And even that might be all right if he didn’t teach at the College of Saint Bernadette. Nothing is more important to Jack than reason, the triumph of truth over comforting fantasies, but Saint Bernie’s is the land of created realities, where critical thoughts go to die. When his oldest partner in disbelief shows up as the campus priest, Jack edges nearer the abyss, finally plunging over when his ex-wife enrolls their brilliant young son in a Lutheran school and the boy begins quoting Scripture in response to Jack’s questions. Back against the wall, Jack starts to “come out” as a non-believer at what turns out to be the worst possible time — as a Marian apparition turns the college into a holy pilgrimage site.