A young, penniless Frenchwoman inherits an estate in Ireland – and discovers there a slew of secrets that’ll take her beyond space and time. Volume 1 of 5. Ireland, 1801. Two men are walking across the moors when they chance upon an unearthly mausoleum lost in the mists. 122 years later, Emilie Bertin, a cabaret singer going through difficult times, is contacted by a lawyer, who explains that she is the only heir to a man who vanished in mysterious circumstances, and now stands to inherit a castle and estate … in Ireland. Thus begins for Emilie the most fantastic of journeys.

After a less than restful night spent in the Tinker camp, Emilie finally enters the estate she’s inherited. There, she soon meets the residents – half caretakers, half parasites, and all extremely strange. Through conversations with members of that eclectic group, and her own explorations, the young woman begins to discover the surprising history of her ancestor, Hatcliff, and the estate that bears his name – along with the apparently very real magic that permeates the place.