In The Accident David Plante explores the religious turmoil experienced by some American students attending the Catholic University of Louvain. The unnamed narrator is a French-Canadian from Providence, Rhode Island, whose atheism masks a deep desire to be possessed by God.
He is immediately drawn to Tom Donlon, an Irish-Catholic from Fordham and a devout believer who practices "the mortifications of the flesh." These two discuss religious matters from very different perspectives. In addition, Tom is befriended by Karen, a rich girl who wants to break all the rules of her strict Catholic upbringing.
Using spare prose and a laser-like intensity, Plante, author of The Catholic, probes the spiritual struggle of these college students as they grapple with the nature of their relationships with each other and with God. A terrible accident moves them further in the search for meaning.
By respecting both the inviolate mystery of God and the elusive mystery of the human personality, David Plante has fashioned a deeply religious novel.