Charles Panati ventures into the sacred world, exploring the roots of symbols, practices, rituals, holidays, customs, devotions, and personae heavenly and saintly of the world's religions, primarily Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but also venturing out to Hinduism, Buddhism and elsewhere when his search takes him there. The book tells the stories behind the second coming, stigmata, Papal infallibility, beatification, original sin, confession, the Shroud of Turin, the Ark of the Covenant, extreme unction, angels, Satan, the Hail Mary, the Maltese Cross, Passover, Ramadan, the 12 days of Christmas, and more.