When Lambs of Light pray intensely, the power doesn't just form a halo; it opens a Portal of Light to other worlds. However, the same can be true for Dark Soldiers; their Doors of Despair open to other worlds, and one of them is Earth.
The Angel of the Lord warned Reverend Atticus Jordan that the war was coming to Earth, but a warrior would be sent to him to help train an army to hold back the dark. The angel neglected to tell Atticus that Gwen, the warrior, would be pregnant and may not want to fight anymore.
Each elder in Atticus' church has faced despair - death, loss, betrayal -- and chosen to live in hope, joy, and grace. They know that the war is coming; they know that they must choose again, for Light or Dark, when Gwen shows up at Morning Creek.
Roving bands of looters in black capes and swords catch the attention of Colonel Morgan Forest of the Internal Intelligence Agency who has fought wars his entire life. His trail leads him to Gwen and Gwen's trail leads him to this radical band of parishioners. He sends in his spy; he knows they have formed a militia. He could stop them; he could destroy their sect with a stroke of his pen. But for Morgan, the shadow-line between darkness and light is not that precise.