Bishop as Pawn starts with the totally unexpected return of Father Dowlings' housekeeper's husband, Billy, after he had deserted her 15 years before. Then Billy is gunned down by a sniper. The murder in the rectory of St. Hillary’s Church of Fox River serves as a prelude to the kidnapping of Bishop Rooney of the Archdiocese of Chicago soon after.

It turns out to be a case involving the kidnapping of a bishop for extortion, blackmailing for terror, and murder for revenge.

The relationship of one case to the other is confusing for all involved but Father Dowling has, as his friend Bishop Rooney tells him, "the knack for being at the center of strange happenings". It’s Father Dowling who provides police with the necessary link to solve the kidnapping. He’s also the one who finds the Bishop after he’s been kidnapped, and with the help of Captain Keegan, finally sees him rescued.

It is an entertaining story with the amiable and thoughtful Father Dowling making an increasingly interesting central character.