An unworldly, otherworldly story, by turns affecting and humorous and always absorbing.
— New York Times Book Review

A man intrudes on an all but extinct order of pastoral nuns in this intriguing but heavy-handed parable from Australian crime-novelist Day. Sisters Iphigenia, Margarita and Carla live in a ruined monastery on a remote Australian island, tending their only flock: the Agnes sisters, sheep named for nuns who have died. The rhythm of life is seasonal and canonical: washing day, shearing day, Christmas, Lent. It's hard to say what year it is... until Father Ignatius arrives with a cellular phone to assess what he thought was abandoned property. A career churchman, Ignatius wants to turn a profit by transforming the forgotten nunnery into a luxury retreat for businessmen. The story takes a Stephen King turn when the nuns realize that the priest's plans threaten them. Ignatius is drugged with herbal tea, stripped, shaved and plastered up to the waist in a cast. Still, the priest's presence provokes different reactions from each nun, stirring up long-dormant secrets that threaten to tear apart their community. Ignatius himself undergoes something more than a physical transformation as he is forced to reassess the meaning of his mission in the church. Although Day has undeniable storytelling gifts and weaves together an impressive number of storytelling traditions (classical, biblical, Celtic and fairy tale), the novel's rather kitschy setup and often gruesomely graphic feminist symbolism may force even sympathetic readers to share Ignatius's feeling that "There were parts of the story that even he was having trouble swallowing."

Within the walls of their remote island monastery, three nuns lead a simple life centered around their flock of sheep. The Catholic church seems to have forgotten their existence. The women shave their heads, wear rough woolen clothes they have knitted themselves, and dine on nettles. One of the nuns, Iphigenia, has a keen sense of smell, and one day her nose tells her a man has arrived on their island. Within a few days, the nuns have taken him captive. He is a priest, yet he is an enemy with big plans to turn their island into a posh resort. Sister Carla, the youngest, has never seen a man before. She becomes fascinated with Father Ignatius, providing some of the book's funniest scenes. After one attempt at running away, the poor man finds his legs encased in plaster. Suspense builds admirably to a somewhat pat yet satisfying ending. Australian author Day has written a quirky spiritual thriller with wide appeal.
— Keddy Ann Outlaw, Harris County Public LIbrary, Houston