When a simple but loveable young priest’s vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are threatened by a dangerous inheritance from a 17^th-century philosopher and three strong-minded women, bodies start piling up on the church steps.

SYNOPSIS:

FATHER CHRISTOPHER PAUL (30s) is a young and loveable, but below-average Roman Catholic priest assigned to a small-town church. His peaceful existence is challenged first by a beautiful but pesky, MARIA RODRIGUEZ (30s), the executor of the priest’s grandfather’s will. She demands a DNA test on the priest, who doesn’t want the inheritance. The irony of the potential inheritance is immediately obvious as it contains letters written by Benedict de Spinoza, an ignored 17th-century philosopher who was harshly critical of God and organized religions. Maria stands to profit by the commission of the sale of the highly prized letters. Hot on Maria’s heels, is sexy ANGELA ABRAMS (30s), who works for the Spinoza Restitution Foundation. Angela wants to see the letters posted on the Internet for free. Enter HELEN ROBBINS (60s), an attorney and financial advisor to the Archbishop, Father Paul’s direct supervisor. Helen demands that Spinoza’s potentially damning letters be turned over to the Church, though no one has seen the letters yet.

Everything becomes more difficult for Father Paul. He has nightmares about Spinoza. Maria temps his vow of poverty, Angela tests his vow of chastity, and Helen demands he keep his vow of obedience. Then, Father Paul’s first cousin, who is contesting the will, is killed on the church steps. DETECTIVE KLINE (40s), an experienced African American sleuth is on the case, but Helen uses the Archbishop’s power to protect the dumbfounded priest until the Archbishop is found dead the next morning on the church steps, also implicating Father Paul, or maybe Maria or Angela. However, no murder weapon is found.

The reading of the will brings out the worst in the contentious women. Helen stakes the claim for the Church, Angela demands a full examination of “provenance,” the history of ownership of the letters, and the Detective serves up search warrants for Father Paul, Maria, and Angela and sequesters them in a hotel suite. However, Maria sneaks Spinoza’s letters, written in Latin, into the hotel suite and the English translation reveals why the Church was trying to “bury” the letters. They contain the most inflammatory, anti-religious material ever!

An innocent POLICEWOMAN (30s) is the next victim on the church steps and the Detective finally solves the case. Helen and her accomplice, a deeply religious POLICEMAN HARRIS (30s), killed to acquire Spinoza’s letters for the Pope to bury in the Vatican Secret Archives. Still, there are many twists at the end, as more is learned about the provenance of the letters including their theft by Swiss Guards, the raiding of the Vatican libraries by Napoleon, and a missing crate of Vatican treasures later found by Father Paul. This leads to a surprising above-average life for our hero.

SPINOZA'S REVENGE