In 1971, Psychotherapist David Weis thought he'd reached a therapeutic completion with his ghostly, lovely patient, Almira...until the true reason for her spiritual entrapment is revealed. The questions raised are more profound than anything psychology can explain. Can David really help without surrendering his own disbelief and risk losing the chance for love in his own life?

Meanwhile, in 1841, life at the Albany Female Academy is complicated. Desperate and young, Almira is thrown into a web of social tensions, animal desire, and secrets built upon secrets. Can she and her forbidden lover, Daniel, succeed in their race against time to marry and find happiness in the face of society's obstacles?