Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child sexual abuse, death by suicide, gender discrimination, sexual content, and cursing.

The 29-year-old main character and first-person narrator, Father Tyler Bell, lists some of the rules that a priest must follow. For example, they can’t marry, and they must not hurt the people in their church. Tyler excels at obeying the rules, but several months ago, he deviated from the celibacy rule. What follows is his “confession.”

Tyler grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He moved from the big city to the tiny, quaint Missouri town of Weston, where he’s the priest at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church. The church needs more light, different carpeting, and real wood, and a recent fundraiser will help them renovate. The stiff and confined confessional booth also needs a transformation.

Rowan Murphy, a math teacher, is Tyler’s only constant penitent. He confesses to envy and lust, and for penance, Tyler tells him to think about the direction of his life. With Rowan’s confession over for the day, Tyler looks forward to leaving early and enjoying the warm weather, but a new penitent enters the booth.

The woman, Poppy Danforth (though Tyler doesn’t know her name yet), is uncomfortable.