Joint winner (with Michael Ondaajte's Anil's Ghost) of the Giller Prize, Mercy Among the Children is reckoned by many to be the finest Canadian novel of 2000. The novel tells the story of Sydney Henderson and his son Lyle. As a young man, Sydney, believing he has accidentally killed a friend, makes a pact with God, promising never to harm another if the boy's life is spared. In the years that follow the almost pathologically gentle Sydney holds true to his promise - at terrible cost to himself and his family.