William E. Barrett was author of Lilies of the Field and a biography of Pope Paul VI. In this 1972 novel, the editor of a Christian magazine sends his friend Kirk, a painter, to Germany to research the history of a mysterious 17th century painting of Jesus which has a disturbing effect on its viewers. There, Kirk begins a romance with a writer from New York, there to cover the annual Passion Play which has taken place in the town for centuries.