In 1919, demobbed Gerald Brenan rents a house for a year in Yegen, a village in Alpujarra. He has little but a love of reading and writing. He's soon the center of attention from his maid MarÑa, who has a marriageable daughter, Ángeles; from Paco, who offers to guide Gerald in the ways of love and the village; and from his landlady, her friend who loves St. Teresa, the town priest, and teen beauty Julia who's the daughter of a witch. Gerald must sort out his feelings and face down the machinations of the town's women, who map a future he doesn't want. What he wants is romance. How far from his class and country can he venture, and for how long?