Amanda was a member of a traveling circus that one day recruited the eccentric drummer John Paul Ziller, a once famous musician known for his exotic dress and odd mannerisms.

As the hot dog stand gains traction, a man who goes by the name of Marx Marvelous gets himself arrested for sneaking into a zoo and setting the baboons free, which he reveals to have done because he knew it would attract the Zillers' attention.

A man of science, Marvelous reveals to Amanda that he believes Christianity is on the verge of collapse and will soon transition to a new religion, with the Zillers playing some sort of key role.

During this time, the trio intermittently receive letters from John Paul's friend Plucky Purcell, who explains that he has infiltrated a secret organization of Catholic assassins known as the Order of the Felicitate, which he accomplished by assuming the identity of a deceased monk he had stumbled upon.

After spending over a year at the monastery, he travels with the organization to the Vatican City, where an unexpected earthquake damages the catacombs in which he slept and inadvertently reveals the corpse of Jesus Christ, which had until then been stored underground in a sealed vault.

While searching for clues, Marx and Amanda find a newspaper clipping which details the launch of a large weather balloon which would take a group of five baboons to the edge of space.

The report concludes by saying that John Paul faced certain death within 24 hours due to the extreme exposure from the sun, after which his body, along with Mon Cul's and the Corpse's, would eventually disintegrate entirely.

[3] In his memoir, Robbins states that he did not want to describe the sixties in this novel but to re-create them on the page, "to mirror in style as well as content their mood, their palette, their extremes, their vibrations, their profundity, their silliness and whimsy.

"[4] Robbins also said he used a collage technique—he skimmed media such as the underground press, KRAB radio program guides, broadsides, fliers for concerts to try and pluck out items that might capture a portrait of the period.