Elizabeth Ash is on the run from her foundering marriage. With her sidekick, Lynn, she has fled to England for a month, where the cool air is a tonic and adventure may be at hand. Seeking solitude, Elizabeth's husband, Henry, has holed up in her sister's Vermont summerhouse to begin writing the book he hopes will transform his life. But Henry is more alone and less isolated than he bargained for: A year earlier his brother-in-law, Fitz, dropped dead in the same house. Fitz's ghost is everywhere, especially so after Henry inadvertently discovers Fitz's intimate life story stored in the Macintosh in the study.