Harold Cardinal Farley, a high ranking American Cardinal and Archbishop, is asked by the pope, who happens to be a personal friend from seminary days, to serve on a worldwide commission of Church hierarchy that seeks to find a way to ease the cumbersome annulment requirements of the Catholic Church. Serving on this commission would press on him greatly in the decisions he has to make as a conservative Catholic prelate. There are lives close to him that are affected by the very problem he is investigating. Most of all, however, it affects his growing love for Ann Lincroft, attractive wife of wealthy banker, Charles Lincroft, and a friend of his over many years. Circumstances in his life change radically while serving on the commission and he is ultimately forced to make the most critical decision of his life.