Nominated for the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama

It's 1606 and Europe is at war over God. At the behest of the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, Venice's four strongest men are charged with transporting a holy painting - Albrecht Dürer's The Brotherhood of the Rosary - across the Alps to Prague. In the small Alpine village of Pusterwald, they are set upon by Protestant zealots; their escape is attributed to a miracle.

The strongmen and their captain are summoned to an inquiry, led by the magistrate of Venice and the cardinal archbishop of Milan, to determine whether something divine did indeed occur. Each man's recounting adds a layer of colour to the canvas.

Through this vividly painted mystery, inspired by true events, Sean Dixon challenges the role of faith at thedawn of the Age of Reason.

Sean Dixon is a novelist and playwright, co-founder of the seminal 90s Winnipeg physical Theatre Company PRIMUS. His novels include The Girls Who Saw Everything (published in the UK as The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal) and The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn. His recent plays include Theatrefront's The Orange Dot, (which Toronto Star's Karen Fricker called a "finely nuanced observation of male-female interaction ... that is part triumph, part tragedy of wronged, vengeful women"), Blyth Festival's The Wilberforce Hotel (published by Scirocco, about a short-lived African American settlement in 1830's Ontario) and Tarragon Theatre's 'A God in Need of Help' , based on the true story of four strong men who were forced to carry a painting over the Alps in the early 17th Century (GG nominated for best new play). Upcoming is a play for the Tarragon (Orphan Song) about two different species of early humans involved in the elemental experience of adoption, and a children's picture book about a kid making a family tree.

Sean Dixon's profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General's Award for Drama