The novel tells the story of Mark Travers and his search for redemption after a fall from grace. It is a contemporary retelling of a classic theme: man's search for the Holy Grail and the answer to the age-old question, "Whom does the Grail serve?" Once a respected reporter for The Journal, Mark departs the city in a self-imposed exile after committing the one unpardonable sin that City Room boss Dave Larsen could never tolerate. Mark gets caught up in a web of deceit, manipulated by the notorious crime boss, Lucky Luciano, to do his bidding in the pages of The Journal. Mark is destined to find the redemption he seeks among the good people of Harlan, Iowa, and in the person of a humble boy dying of leukemia. There he finds the answer to his modern-day version of the age-old quest, "Whom does The Journal serve?"