The unconventional protagonist of Coelho's beautiful book issues a moral test to the village that they might never be able to overcome. In the tiny alpine community, a stranger shows up. Eleven gold bars and a notebook are both in his rucksack, which he wears about his person. After interring these nearby, the stranger forms an odd acquaintance with Miss Prym, a young villager. His goal is to determine whether or not people are fundamentally good or evil. The Devil and Miss Prym uncovers the existence of good and evil within each of us as well as our uniquely human ability to choose between them in a fascinating meditation on the human soul.