Thirteen-year-old Cody Hoffman is a believer. He is devoted to God, the angels and saints, and the Catholic Church. He's a sensitive boy who was crippled by Polio when he was four. He's a loner, not like other boys, and an easy mark for a bully. Mac McCarthy, a tough older boy, begins to stalk him, tempting him to join him in what he calls a "boy buddies" relationship by showing him pictures of men and boys in lewd acts. Cody wants no part of it. When Cody decides to destroy all of Mac's dirty magazines by setting fire to the shed where he has them stored, Mac is livid. He beats Cody, then forces him to have sex, which robs Cody of his innocence and purity and destroys his beautiful relationship with God.

Drowning in a sea of guilt and shame, he wants to find a way to make Mac pay. Then Mac dies in a freak accident, and Cody is free of Mac, but feels no closer to God. What does he have to do to receive God's forgiveness? The Holy Spirit shows him the way. The Convent Garden is a deeply emotional story of the loss of innocence. Rich with religious symbolism, it is a young boy's experience with God's power, the evil of sin, and the healing power of forgiveness.