This Present Darkness was the first major success of Christian author Frank Peretti. Published in 1986, the novel has been a bestseller for decades, selling millions of copies in multiple languages. Structured as a suspense thriller, This Present Darkness follows the events of a handful of men and women in the small town of Ashton, which happens to be the site of an impending war between angels and demons. This novel is the first in a series of books in the Christian thriller genre for which Peretti is known.

This study guide refers to the e-book edition issued by Howard Books in 2012.

Plot Summary

At a summer carnival, Bernice Kreuger unwittingly photographs a secret meeting of leaders of the Omnicorp organization while on assignment for the local newspaper, the Ashton Clarion. This sets off a long investigation conducted by Bernice and her boss, the new editor of the paper, Marshall Hogan, into the secret activities of Alf Brummel (the chief of police), Oliver Young (pastor of the town’s largest church), Juleen Langstrat (professor of psychology at the local college), and many others.

Meanwhile, new pastor Hank Busche and his wife, Mary, are new in town; to Hank’s chagrin, things are not as they seem, and he finds himself almost ostracized for implementing church disciplines in the community. At the same time, Ashton is on the verge of being the site of a major war between angels and demons, as angels begin to congregate around the small Christian church and the demons increase their interactions with the humans. Both Hank and Marshall are singled out as particularly dangerous to the success of the demonic plot and are attacked for their efforts.

Bernice and Marshall’s investigative efforts begin to uncover Omnicorp’s nefarious plan, which is buying up as much territory and as many businesses as possible, including the local Whitmore College. Bernice dives headfirst into the investigation, spurred on by the hope that in making more connections in town she’ll have a greater opportunity to find out what happened to her sister, who died a tragic and mysterious death in the town the previous year. Marshall, on the other hand, is torn between his drive to uncover an increasingly convoluted scheme and the desire to reconnect with his family, especially his estranged daughter, Sandy.

Sandy gets caught up in Juleen Langstrat’s counseling sessions thanks to her influence at the college as a professor, and she is swiftly introduced to the spirit guides with whom Langstrat is in constant communication. Unbeknownst to them, however, the spirit guides are actually demons in disguise, manipulating them for the sake of their own evil ends. Led by Rafar, the prince of Babylon, and the Strongman, an ancient powerful demon, the horde of demons wreaks havoc in the town and manipulate its inhabitants into sinful behavior.

Marshall ends up confronting both Alf Brummel and Oliver Young and is eventually thrown in prison for his efforts. The angels, continuing to work for the sake of protecting the community, assist in the escape of a woman named Susan (aka The Handmaid) from Alexander Kaseph, the leader of Omnicorp’s true identity: the Universal Consciousness Society. Susan is able to bring hard evidence to Bernice and Marshall that they can use to convict dozens of people in Omnicorp’s illegal plot to take over Ashton using bribery, corrupt officials, threat of violence, and tax fraud.

Hank and the rest of the Christian community in Ashton launch a prayer campaign for the town and its protection, but Hank ends up being arrested on false charges of sexual assault from one of the women whom he had been counseling. While in prison, Hank meets Marshall for the first time, they exchange stories about the last few weeks, and they realize that they’ve been involved in all the same schemes with all the same people, just from different ends. Their conversation allows them to put all the pieces together, discovering the true nature of what is going on.

Meanwhile, Bernice arranges for outside help to meet her and everyone else at the college, where Omnicorp will be finalizing their plans to buy it. At the scheduled time, the federal agents and attorneys arrive at the college, and the spiritual battle reaches a climax. The Strongman takes over possession of Kaseph while Rafar fights Tal, the angel captain; both are defeated, Langstrat is killed, and the rest of the Omnicorp leaders are arrested. After the battle, Bernice decides to strike up a conversation with Hank about her spiritual intuitions, and the angels discover they are being called away to South America for another battle.