When Mr. Phillips arrives in Rome on New Year's Day, his news horrifies Cardinal Franklin—English and German Catholics are plotting a suicide bombing against the Abbey where Felsenburgh's inner circle meets. Cardinal Franklin informs Pope John, who immediately dispatches him and the Cardinal Steinmann of Germany, to their respective homelands to try to prevent the bombing. As their volor flies over the Alps, the two Cardinals encounter an enormous squadron of volors heading south from England and Germany. Having also learned of the plot through Mr. Phillips, President Felsenburgh has ordered the Dresden-style destruction of Rome in retaliation.