Strangers in a Strange Land brings the story of Saint Susan's monastery to light against the backdrop of a war between England and France, religious prejudice, conflicts of personality, lies, and misunderstanding. It introduces the dominant figure of the time, Dom Augustin de Lestrange, abbot of La Valsainte in Switzerland, as well as two others of major importance including the first prior of the house, Dom Jean-Baptiste Desnoyers, and the last and only abbot, Dom Antoine Saulnier de Beauregard.