The world of cars is a world where humans don't exist, and all life forms take the form of cars. Cars are ""born"" with assigned tasks and social roles (e.g., a police car is born with a predestination for police work, and similarly, race cars are born for racing). Within their predestined professions, cars can undergo certain transformations, such as racing in various races, becoming coaches after a sports career, or working in various police departments. In the world of cars, clunkers are a class-discriminated group of cars that rust away and lack spare parts.

Terry Davis is a devout Catholic and programmer. He claims that God visits him in visions in which he criticizes the Catholic Church for its deviations from the bible. He is also commissioned to create TempleOS — computer software designed to enable people to communicate directly with God. The program is reliable and unhackable.