The Keys of the Kingdom

Sleeth visits Father Francis Chisholm in Tynecastle, where the aging priest is pressured by the Bishop to retire due to controversial teachings. The bishop’s concerns set the present-day conflict in motion. Sleeth then reads Francis’s journal, which recounts his life beginning in 1878.

As a child, Francis endures an anti-Catholic mob beating his father during a rainstorm. His mother dies trying to rescue him when a bridge collapses, leaving Francis to be raised by his aunt. The family tragedy seeds his faith and resolve to become a priest.

Francis is raised by his aunt until he leaves for the seminary with his childhood friend Anselm 'Angus' Mealey. While away, he remains in love with Nora, a girl from his hometown. Nora dies giving birth to a daughter, Judy, just as Francis prepares to return to the seminary, deepening his sense of duty and loss.

Bishop McNabb urges Francis to volunteer for missions in China, and Francis accepts. He travels to Pai-tan, China, to find the mission flooded and in disrepair, and he begins to evangelize from a small rented room. He faces hostility from 'rice Christians' who attend for free rice rather than for true belief.

A young Chinese Christian named Joseph offers to help rebuild the church for free after hearing that a missionary has returned. He walks five days to reach the village and joins Francis in establishing the St Andrews Christian Mission.

Willie Tulloch returns from Scotland with medical supplies, and an old woman entrusts her granddaughter to Francis. He cures Chia's son of a dangerous infection when summoned to their home. Chia asks to convert, but Francis declines, arguing that true faith cannot be bought through gratitude. Nevertheless, Chia donates land and labor to rebuild the mission, and three nuns arrive to expand services.

Two years later, Willie helps establish a makeshift hospital as the conflict intensifies. Imperial troops set fires and destroy much of the town and the mission; Willie is fatally shot and dies in Francis’s care.

When the imperial general demands most of the mission’s resources, Francis and a republican officer devise a plan to attack the cannon with an explosive bundle hidden among supplies. They plant the bundle beside the main cannon, and the explosion destroys the cannon and kills 32 troops, though Francis is injured with a lasting limp.

Angus arrives for a review of missionary sites and reveals that Bishop McNabb is dead. He states the church cannot pay for rebuilding and urges Francis to chase wealthier converts and improve his appearance, but Francis refuses to change his approach or abandonment of his vocation.

Ten years pass as Francis tends bees and makes wax; a new church has been built. A rival American mission opens in Pai-tan under Rev. Fiske and his wife, presenting competition to Francis’s ministry.

Francis reaches retirement age and two young priests come to replace him. He plans to look after Judy’s son, Andrew, when Andrew returns to Scotland, and the townspeople line the street to cheer him as he drives through in an open-top car.

Sleeth spends a night reading Francis’s journal and decides not to tell the Bishop that anything is amiss, allowing Francis to continue serving his parish. They head out with fishing rods, ending the tale on a quiet note of companionship.