Story begins with Charles Castle who, in 1912, marries the girl of his dreams only to lose her 24 hours later when a snow fissure swallows her in Switzerland. He is off to World War I a few years later as a corpse photographer and later, after the war, opens a portrait studio with his war buddy Roy. After unmasking a forgery at the trendy Theosophical Society, he is approached by Bea Templeton who asks him to test some photos taken by her daughters. The photos purport to show fairies at play, and Castle is intrigued enough to visit the Templeton's rural home. After Bea's mysterious death, he becomes more obsessed with communing with the fairies who offer him a chance to reach the Other Side and reunite with his lost love.