As the play opens, we are introduced to Stuart when he enters his basement apartment carrying stolen items from his evening's local neighborhood thefts. He speaks to himself and to his friends in the apartment, the audience, about his exceptional skills in his shady profession and justifies his actions by his environment, coping with his life by blaming it on others. [sings "Blame it on Another"].
He displays his resentment for his father, who spent little time with him before passing away, and curses the world's depraved social ills and its hypocritical nature. He insists that society is suffering and is need for something more. [sings "Cryin' Out"]
Stuart confesses that he met an interesting girl, Mona, in a coffee shop who claimed to have some different answers about the world and she invited him to a fireside to learn more about a new religion. He scoffs the idea of a "new religion", but decides to attend, not as a seeker - but to scout out the interior of the home for a future burglary.
After returning from the fireside, he speaks of his mixed emotions in response to the oddly diverse group welcoming him with open arms and the young well-mannered boy that befriended him and read a prayer for the group [sings "Spiritual Qualities Prayer"]. He talks of Mona's father, Mr. Rowhani, who quickly becomes a mentor to Stuart and provides him with friendship and love. Stuart rejects the validity of this new religion, The Bahá'í Faith on the basis that it is too good to be true, but bathes in its wonder [sings "What if it Were True?"] and decides to return to Mona's home for another meeting.
Elated by these new found truths, Stuart stays up all night reading about the Bahá'í Faith and is bursting with excitement [sings "Can you Believe…"] only to shamefully confess that the previous evening that he and his seedy cohort, Tony, carried out the original plan and robbed the Rowhani home in the early hours. Stuart recounts the robbery in disgust but anonymously returns all of the stolen goods, vowing to never steal from anyone again. Stuart is later visited by Mr. Rowhani who kindly focuses Stuart's attention on the station of Bahá'u'lláh, while leaving with Stuart as a gift, one of the returned stolen items. Stuart is profoundly moved [sings "Bahá'u'lláh"].
Months later, Stuart has a new life as an active Bahá'í and a job as a store manager. He speaks of a dream he had of his father and has begun to heal old wounds by hoping that his father has passed on some of his good qualities to him [sings "Some of You"]. Stuart suddenly learns that Mr. Rowhani passed away the night before and is heartbroken, but remembers the example Mr. Rowhani set and decides to move away in his stead to a pioneering post [sings "Fruits of His Work"].