The primary characters of this novel: the vicar, churchwarden, and Thomson, took life within my wonderings on the death of my bishop, and do not represent any persons, living or dead, that I have known in my life. Some of the other characters in the novel do reflect specific people (though never from confession, of course), and I offer their words, experiences and wisdom as a tribute to them and to the integrity and struggles of their own journey.
This novel makes use of fiction to investigate questions raised by males - young, middle-aged and older - as they undergo the difficult, lifelong metamorphosis into manhood, engaging one primary issue as a paradigm for the many, unique - and deeply personal - issues which confront each man along his journey.