The author travelled extensively in Europe, the Middle East and Africa while researching it.
Unusually, his acknowledgements contain not only expressions of gratitude, but also a faux-anathema against the credit-card company which cancelled his card while he was travelling in the Sudan.
The gospel's author is revealed to be Matthias, whom the Book of Acts describes as Judas's replacement.
The fictional Gospel of Matthias's descriptions of first-century Christianity are not always edifying, but often wittily call to mind contemporary religious movements.
The fictional gospel revolves around whether, after his crucifixion, Jesus's body was smuggled to Egypt and mummified.