The tale of a feminine boy and his 16-year-old governess in the late 1840s. He is reluctantly coming to terms with his femininity, and she with her mannish frame and inclinations. Generosity and acceptance face dark and murderous forces against a background of natural witchery and struggling feminism. The categories do not fit well, so judge for yourself.

How Nancy becomes, first an inmate of the Yonkers Asylum, and then a witch.