Long after a nuclear apocalypse plunges humanity into another Dark Ages, a monastery in the Utah desert dedicates itself to preserving and recopying the scraps of documents remaining from the preapocalyptic world. The book tells three stories; how a humble monk stumbles upon relics that lead to the canonization of the monastery's patron saint, how science begins to emerge again much later and the relic documents prove useful, and how later still, international conflict once again threatens nuclear holocaust.
