In turn-of-the-century England, a young boy watches helplessly as his sister drowns in a lake; 20 years later, David (Aidan Quinn), still wracked by guilt, is a professor of psychology and a professional skeptic. He receives a call from an elderly nanny named Tess (Anna Massey) who believes her household is haunted. Returning to the same village where his sister died, he meets Christina (Kate Beckinsale), Tess' charge. Soon, strange happenings and sad memories shake David's faith in reason.