The novel opens with a prologue in which Thomas Fenton, a writer, tells us that he is writing a story about a man named Davie. Davie is an artist who lives in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of a publisher and a book designer. He has been writing about angels since he was a child. He tells Davie that he has come to talk to him. Davie asks him where the girl is, and he tells him that he came alone. Davie says that he knows that Davie has the same hopes and dreams as he does, and that he wants to talk with him. He asks Davie if he wants war to end, and Davie replies that he does not want war to claim all of humanity. He says that if the war ends, then the reign of M.azool will reign as a seraph. Davie tells him to join them or face them now, and asks if he was sent to kill him under the flag of truce. Davie responds that he wished to face him now, so that he could answer his father's questions.