St. John, the Eagle, the evangelist whom Christ loved most, doesn't know. At this point in his miraculous journey through times and spaces he is confused, apprehensive. Fleeing an oppressive atmosphere of isolation and violence (the scenes set in a Quebec restaurant and a Toronto rooming house) he has landed in the West Indies. His mind reels under a bombardment of sensations and images. He feels the weight of bloody centuries superimposed against the sensuous brilliance and gaiety of the islands. And always there are signs along the way. And almond-eyed Miss Pat, hands of christophine and heart of palm, who gently encourages and guides him as he is inexorably drawn toward and explosive fate. 'Canadian Healing Oil' is an extraordinary surrealistic vision of the death of cultures, a search for meaning through history, religion. Outside the mainstream of Canadian fiction Butler's third novel is also a startling departure from his earlier work. Passionate and profound, wild and witty, nothing like it has been written before in Canada.