Gerard Freeman grew up in a small provincial town in Australia. From early childhood, he dreamed of the distant fairy-tale England that his mother so enthusiastically told him about. Gerard soon learns that the reasons why she left her homeland are surrounded by mystery. In her room, he discovers a portrait of an unknown woman, and then a strange mystical ghost story written by his great-grandmother. He shares his guesses and assumptions with the Englishwoman Alice Jessel, a pen pal, whom he has never seen and about whom he knows almost nothing... What amazing discoveries await Gerard in the land of his ancestors, in an old family mansion, full of mysterious shadows that keep the secrets of three generations? Will he be able to avoid mortal danger and who is actually the author of the yellowed diaries, terrible stories, mysterious letters leading Gerard towards his fate?