A. J Cronin

The Keys of the Kingdom tells the story of a man with great courage and conviction, a man unafraid to stand up for what is right. Francis Chisholm-a kindhearted and straightforward Scottish priest-walks a path all his own, making him unpopular with other members of the clergy. Ostracized by the clerical community and looked down on by his superiors, Chisholm takes a position in China where he supervises a mission beset by poverty, civil war, and plague....

A young doctor in a Welsh mining village runs up against the medical establishment when he tries to explore the cause of a cough disabling miners; he abandons his humanitarian goals for a London practice.