Father Duncan MacAskill has spent most of his priesthood as the 'Exorcist' - an enforcer employed by his bishop to discipline wayward clergy and suppress potential scandal. He knows all the devious ways that lonely priests persuade themselves that their needs trump their vows, but he's about to be sorely tested himself. Sequestered in a small rural parish to avoid an impending public controversy, Duncan must confront the consequences of past cover-ups and the suppression of his own human needs. Pushed to the breaking point by loneliness, tragedy and sudden self-knowledge, Duncan discovers how hidden obsessions and guilty secrets either find their way to the light of understanding, or poison any chance we have for love and spiritual peace.

Linden MacIntyre is the co-host of the fifth estate and the winner of nine Gemini awards for broadcast journalism. He is the author of the bestselling novel, The Long Stretch, nominated for a Libris Award and the Books in Canada first novel award. His most recent book, The Bishop's Man, won the 2009 Giller Prize.