Dolly, a young, privileged California girl, descends into a bizarre religious cult operated by the colorful and outlandish Father Divine. Set in 1940s and 50s Los Angeles and Berkeley, events are seen through the eyes of Dolly's self-centered mother, her materialistic sister, and her admirable but distant father. The book explores and questions the extent to which people can be guided or shaped by others. It ultimately questions the morality of misleading the impressionable mind into behavior far outside social norms.