Michael O'Brien presents a thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schfer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroiled him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church. Father Elijah is a convert from Judaism, a survivor of the Holocaust, a man once powerful in Israel. For twenty years he has been "buried in the dark night of Carmel" on the mountain of the prophet Elijah, overlooking the city of Haifa. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and this to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world.

In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God.

This is an apocalypse in the old literary sense, but one that was written in the light of Christian revelation. It is a novel about the crucifixion of the Bride of Christ. It does not offer simplistic resolutions or false piety. It offers the Cross, but bears witness to the ultimate victory of light.

Michael O'Brien, author, editor and artist, has written a number of books including the best-selling novels Strangers and Sojourners, and Eclipse of the Sun, as well as A Landscape with Dragons: The Battle for Your Child's Mind a critique of contemporary children's literature and entertainment. Formerly the editor of the magazine Nazareth Journal, O'Brien writes and lectures widely on the topic of faith and culture. His articles have appeared in numerous journals. He has been a full-time artist for 20 years with paintings and murals displayed in churches and museums across North America. He, his wife Sheila, and their six children live near Combermere, Ontario.