At the University of Barchester, where Arthur Prescott works as an English professor, his one respite is his time spent nestled in the Barchester Cathedral library, nurturing his secret obsession with the Holy Grail and researching his perennially unfinished guidebook to the medieval cathedral. When American Bethany Davis arrives in Barchester charged with the task of digitizing the library's manuscripts, Arthur's tranquility is broken. He sets out to thwart Bethany, only to find in her a kindred spirit with a similar love for knowledge and books-- and a fellow Grail fanatic. Joined in a quest to find the lost Book of Ewolda, the ancient manuscript telling the story of the cathedral's founder, the pair discover secrets about the cathedral, about the Grail, and about themselves.