Unlike humans, Lucifer is ineligible for redemption and therefore doomed to eternal hell. Playing on God's sense of fairness, Lucifer appeals to the Archangel Michael for a chance to redeem himself by turning a person he corrupted into a paragon of virtue. Against his own wishes, Michael makes the deal. However, since moral perfection is impossible for anyone, he decrees that Lucifer must attain redemption by seeing that his subject does not break nine of the Ten Commandments politically. The agreement is struck and the target of Lucifer's effort will be the corrupt, wealthy governor of Kentucky, who is gearing up for reelection and is hopelessly paranoid about his opponents. Besides engaging in the usual local corruption, the "Guv" worms his way into a deal to bring riverboat gambling to the state. Lucifer dispatches an imp disguised as a political consultant to infiltrate the campaign and influence the governor toward political righteousness. The imp and the governor's spokeswoman share a romantic attraction, which is also resolved in this rollicking, metaphysical muckraking of Kentucky politics.