When drifter Lew Archer meets a priest while travelling along a lonely road in Texas, he thinks nothing of it. But this chance encounter sets in motion a train of events which sees Archer escorting a party of nuns through hostile territory to start a school on the Mexican border. With war and bloodshed around them, Lew Archer is the best man to help them make their way to safety, although why he should take the trouble to do so is a mystery to everybody...