Miriam O'Connor is a young Victorian Irish school teacher with an avaricious love for reading and mythology. She is overjoyed when she inherits a mansion in northern England filled with a treasure trove of mythological texts. What she truly desires, however, is to find a man like those in the old stories, who will love her truly and defend her honor. One day while reading in the attic of the library, she discovers a dusty old book filled with cryptic writing. When she opens it, it whisks her off to the beautiful golden-green country of Naofatir, where the fairylike inhabitants are caught in a battle against their terrible Enemy, the Dorchadas. There, she meets the great prince of Naofatir, and discovers her destiny in helping him save the beautiful land from destruction.