Swordbill, weary from lengthy adventures, faces a crisis of faith. She retires to an abbey, where she is advised to take a journey through the eternal places: Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. On this journey, she hopes to understand and discover the eternal realities of life after death. The arch-demon Mephistopheles is commanded by God to be Swordbill's guide through Hell, and she garners all the spiritual strength she can to endure the journey. But her journey through Hell is fraught with sights and sounds that not even she could have imagined.