We get to know such places in New Mexico as Santa Fe and Albuquerque (obviously), but also Pueblos Acoma and Taos, among others. The land and the region take the central place in Cather’s story. Willa Cather sets her novel in interesting times in a land “barely discovered” and in many aspects – still unknown (“ in a dark continent”).

On the contrary, Cather leaves plenty of space in the book for colourful descriptions of exotic environs, paying attention to the particular themes, including the ardour of religious duty and the dilemmas of missionary work. However, this does not make this book a “lesser” novel.

It is more of an anthropological/historical travelogue, focusing on the nature of land and on the people living on it, rather than a linear story. This historical novel can be called a “descriptive tour de force”, rather than a straightforward narrative story. The two priests face a whole array of problems in establishing a religious jurisdiction in the new area, from the region’s isolation and merciless climate to authority challenges on the part of Mexican priests. The Father becomes a new Bishop in the region and he came there with his loyal friend and compatriot Father Joseph Vaillant. This novel, which spans from 1848 to 1888, focuses on Jean Marie Latour, a young Frenchman recently appointed as a Vicar Apostolic in the state of New Mexico, a part of land which has only recently been annexed to the US.

Death comes for the archbishop