As the cardinals meet in conclave to elect a new pontiff, a strange name appears on every ballot. Disregarding the possibility of a miracle--believing instead that foreign entities have carried out a conspiracy to embarrass the Catholic Church--the cardinals call on scientists to conduct a rigorous investigation. The results indicate that no human hands were responsible for the phenomenon. Fearful of the world's reaction, but haunted by the lingering memory of the Galileo affair, a majority of the cardinals decide to place their faith in science and call on Gonzalo Vrooman, a married-with-children professor of history, to become the first known layman pope since Peter.As Pope John XXIV, he confronts the sex abuse scandal, celibacy, ecumenism, anti-Semitism, women's issues, a politically divided laity, Muslim extremism, preventive war, and secularism while stripping Jesus' doctrine of centuries of cultural barnacle that has hidden its true meaning. Throughout, the impending threat of war in the Middle East over the issue of Iranian deployment of nuclear weapons forces him into a showdown with the President of the United States. Establishing an alliance with atheist scientists and bringing renowned lay personnel into the administration of the Holy See, this most unconventional pope duels against secular and religious values to take the papacy beyond the post-modern era.