Jove Hendricks wishes he had never moved to Shangbei: it's too hot and humid and the religious conflicts are even more intense than in his hometown Hamberwa. Soon war looms in this post-robot-apocalypse world of church politics and intrigue. Jove's boss, the Grand Priestess of the Good Faith sect, teams up with her allies against the Mukol doomsday faith, which promises relief from worldly misery by destroying the cause of all human suffering: the earth itself. On top of the political bickering, Jove suffers from a recurring nightmare in which he sees a place he dubbed the "Dome of Souls" - a giant hall where he lies immobile and suspended in thin air among billions of people. One night, the Dome gives Jove a four-word message that can save the world. Trouble is, he doesn't understand what "Lenny escaped and survived" means. The only one who does is Grand Priest Shavendra, the head of the Mukol doomsday cult that wants to destroy the planet.