Three Marys

The pope once again calls on Cal Donovan, Harvard professor of religious history and biblical archeology, to investigate a series of possible miracles in this fanciful sequel to Sign of the Cross. Three teenagers, each named Maria or Mary, all virgins, have become pregnant. Word of these events has caused what might be “the greatest schism in the history of the Catholic Church,” with George Pole, an American cardinal, threatening an “open display of opposition if the Church doesn’t affirm them as miraculous.” Cal flies to the Philippines to visit the first candidate, and then heads to Peru to question the second. He sends Irish priest Joseph Murphy, who’s also on the Harvard faculty, to visit the Irish Mary. All three describe similar experiences: a bright light, a voice saying “you have been chosen,” followed by a state of confusion. The investigation spins out of control when Murphy is kidnapped, and the three Marys go missing. Fans of Da Vince Code knockoffs will have fun. Agent: Sarah Perillo, Curtis Brown (U.S.). (Dec.)