As told by Father Michael McKinnon, the story is set in 1930's Boston. Arthur Barret, an attorney and adviser to FDR, and Eleanor Barret, a successful author, have decided to have a child. Unfortunately, Arthur is impotent, forcing the couple to go outside of conventional means. Top Harvard Law student Roger Martin is hired for the task and, after repeated tries, is successful in impregnating Eleanor. However, due to his repeated visits to the older woman, Roger has fallen madly in love, forcing Arthur to threaten him with violence if he persists in trying to see Eleanor. Soon, Roger turns up murdered, Eleanor loses her baby in a fall, and Father McKinnon is revealed to be Arthur's nephew and becomes, in turn, infatuated with Eleanor.