It follows the life of Franklin, a boy brought up in an orphanage in Congo. He is raise by deeply religious and loving nuns, both American and African. They motivate him to a religious life. He is beaten and tortured as a young boy and as a young priest that leads the heads of the religious order to take him out of Africa and put him in Rome. There he meets Pedro, Pancho and the Rodriguez family and is assimilated into the family fully. When Pedro dies, Franklin is elected as Pope. But even as Pope he faces danger for his staunch defense of the Catholic Church and his faith and love of God. Finally, in an assassination attempt he is forced to abdicate and lives out the rest of his life in Texas with his family. Even still he influences many in his final years with a great surprise that leaves him with the knowledge that he is ready to see God.