The Earth is old and dying, a place of weary wonders, and into which is born Pryle, a sin-eater who can reach into your very soul and extract your sins. He roams the world, seeking out the most complex and incredible sins, eating them, freeing the sinners from their burden in this life, and opening the way to eternity in the next life.
The story begins when Pryle comes to Samuel's Tower, a shunned place at the periphery of the City. He has come seeking solitude, reflection, and a place to heal.
Instead, he finds Roscatha, a beautiful young woman whom Pryle senses has a sin unlike any other, the sin of a goddess.
Every year for the next forty years, with Pryle growing older and Roscatha remaining seemingly forever young, they meet at Samuel's Tower, awaiting the time when Pryle will be ready to eat Roscatha's sin.
But Roscatha's sin is so great, so complex, so incomprehensible, that it threatens to consume them both.