In eighteenth-century Peru, a historic bridge collapses, plunging five people to their deaths. A Franciscan monk witnesses the disaster and embarks on a spiritual quest to reconcile free will versus fate and the existence of God in the victims' lives: "Why did this happen to those five?" This thought-provoking, Pulitzer Prize-winning second novel by American writer Thornton Wilder was called "a masterpiece" by The New York Times when it was published in 1927. McCall's praised it as "the philosophical novel brought to perfection." New generations have applied its messages to tragic events, including the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, and the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Bridge of San Luis Rey remains a compelling literary classic exploring destiny, love, religion, and the meaning of life.