How do men with power and influence rise to the top? Is it through naked ambition, altruism,
self-interest or luck?





A new young pope is elected. Five years later he mysteriously
disappears. It is immediately apparent to the church elite that he has, as
Arthur Daley would have said, 'done a runner.' What on earth is going on? Why has he done it?
Where is he? Will he
return?





The search for the absconder is
led by the Vatican's Machiavellian secretary of state and soon involves: an
openly gay bishop and his policeman partner; the Sicilian mafia; a peculiar
band of militaristic religious hermits, and even a BBC natural history
presenter.





The story can be read at different levels. First, it is a 'ripping yarn' with
larger than life characters and is set in exotic locations ranging from an
impoverished Caribbean island to the Dolomites. It deals with concepts such as
temptation, betrayal, ambition, disillusion and fear of death. Ultimately, it is a thought-provoking
story of sacrifice and redemption posing the question: what does it mean to be
a 'good man'.