What is the main conflict in the novel "This Present Darkness" by Frank E. Peretti ?

The main
conflict in this novel is the supernatural struggle between good and evil as determined by an
evangelical U.S. later-twentieth century Christian perspective. On the surface, the conflict
occurs between the New Age Universal Consciousness Society that is plotting to take over the
small college town of Ashton and the forces of Christian good represented by pastor Hank Busche.
Using Christians and those who have been corrupted by New Age ideology, angels and demons fight
it out: in other words,  the real conflict occurs on the supernatural or spiritual plane. The
novel illustrates to its audience that one cannot be too vigilante in adhering to Biblical
standards of purity and orthodoxy, for attacks arrive from those who twist the meaning of the
Bible: demons come disguised as angels of light speaking words that on the surface, sound
reasonable. For example, the demon of Complacency, a demon it could at first be easy to
overlook, for what is wrong with (seeming) contentment?, gets its "taloned fingers"
dug into the town's newspaper editor, Marshall Hogan.  Prayer thus becomes an important weapon
for fighting the devious ways of the demons trying to infiltrate human souls: we all need
spiritual guidance to help us discern good and evil. The book can be criticized as an imperfect
work of literature but it has been influential in encouraging prayer and theological orthodoxy
in the evangelical world.