The action takes place in May 1822 in a fine old country house belonging to the widowed Lady Lambroke. Threatened by rural unrest and her own impoverishment, Lady Lambroke has arranged for her 17-year-old daughter Hannah to be married off to an English aristocrat to pay off her debts. A defrocked Anglican minister, the Reverend Berkeley, arrives at the house with his philosopher acquaintance Charles Audelle, tasked with chaperoning the girl to England. The two men, however, are enthralled by Hannah's reputation for extrasensory awareness, and intend to put it to the test, regardless of the consequences.