Callie McFay moves to upstate New York to take a new position as a professor. When she goes for the job interview, she immediately feels at home at Fairwick Fort. She is attracted to one house, which is believed to be haunted by demons. Callie buys the house ‘Honeysuckle’ as soon as she accepts the job at the college. Not long after, Callie starts to be haunted by the dreams of a shadowy ‘man’ from her childhood. This man seduces her, makes love to her, and pleasures her every night. Callie discovers she is the one who is drawing this ‘man’ the incubus into her darkness, and she has to banish him from her heart. She later realizes there a lot going on in Fairwick than meets the eye, and neighbors and work colleagues are hiding secrets of their own too.
The story gives us an insight into the world of the supernatural world and draws the idea of fairy tales, our misconceptions of supernatural beings, and these phenomenal characters. It is a story of gothic romance where the heroine falls in love with a dark, scary supernatural, which eventually leads to her either dying to be with him or killing him. While Callie was strong intellectually, she was also mighty within the construct of the magical world.
Callie was a dreamer sort, which probably made her more accepting of all fantasy stuff thrown at her without freaking out. Callie McFay is an easy heroine whom we can identify. She is an intellectual, incisive thinker who has a well-thought future for herself, even in the real world. Her strong character comes to the fore as she faces the fact the lover of her dreams is not what he seems to be and also as she faces the darkness of her deepest thoughts and desires.
