The action begins in the Vatican in Rome, with the special General Council meeting at which Father Frank Sweeney (Casey), an Irish priest, protests the church's denial of priests in relationships and HIV. He is restrained and driven away in a car. But Sweeney is prepared; as the car speeds off he presses his palms to the window with a message for the press. Three years later back in Ireland, his suicide generates interest from journalist David Foley (Barry). Deery weaves this strand with the story of the expulsion from a local seminary of trainee priest Daniel McLaughlin (Forbes) on the assumption that he was receptive to sexual advances from a male colleague. Ironically, Daniel's real quandary is to choose between former sweetheart Sinead (Walker) and the church. "Surely, God wants me to be happy," he says. next page >