Our protagonist Callieach is offered a teaching position at Fairwick college. Having a successful education and book about the mythical creatures behind her, Callie is reluctant to accept as she is waiting for an answer from a position in New York. Elizabeth Book, the school principal, would love to have a teacher like her at the college. Callie is in a long-distance relationship with Paul, an economics teacher, and they seem to not be able to get around to finally living together. But, there is something more about Callie that she keeps to herself only. She has vivid dreams almost every night about a shadowy man visiting her, she's been having them since her teenage years when she lost her parents, but those visits have taken on an explicit nature where the shadowy man has become her lover. In fact, this is the reason that Callie chose mythological creatures, demons as her area of study and it was an inspiration for her book.
On her walk over to town Callie notices a beautiful Victorian house and is strangely drawn to it. Later, she announces to Liz Book that she will accept the job and arranges to buy the house. The previous owner of the house was a famous writer as well, Dahlia LaMotte and upon moving there Callie discovers manuscripts of her works that prove to be more explicit than the published versions of her books.
Callie is trying to adjust to her work all the while having nightly visitations by her demon lover. Another new teacher comes to Fairwick, a writer called Phoenix, and she persuades Callie to accept her as a roommate in her new house. Reparations of the house are done by a local carpenter named Brock. Callie meets other staff members of the college: Sohelia, Fiona, Anton Volkov and Frank, and she gets familiar with a local named Diana, who helped her when she first came to the town. One of the students is an exchange student from Bosnia called Mara Marinca whose gruesome tales about her war experience capture Phoenix's attention. The student that grabs Callie's attention is Nicky Ballard whose physical and emotional condition concerns Callie.
Callie is concerned about her own mental state as well because the dreams of her demon lover get to feel more and more realistic. She decides to make a nonchalant conversation with Dean Book, and she directs her to Sohelia who might know a bit more about that topic. Sohelia tells Callie the history of the entity that preys on women's dreams and drains them of their life force. Callie asks if there is a way for one to get rid of that demon and Sohelia provides her the necessary information. On the following night Callie decides to perform an exorcism on her demon lover according to Sohelia's words. The demon comes to her, and they argue about why he haunts her. She commands him to go away, and he gets angry and causes a furious wind storm.
There is a knock on Callie's door and Liz Book, Diana and Sohelia are standing there. Callie finally learns the truth about Fairwick: the town is filled with magical creatures, Liz Book is a witch, Diana a fairy and Sohelia a wind spirit. They suspect that Callie might be a mix between a fairy and a witch considering she freed a bird captured near the door to the Land of Faerie and that she might be what they call a Doorkeeper. There is still a storm cause by the demon lover raging outside and the trio decides to help Callie to get rid of him. They form a circle and add in the iron door mice that Brock left for Callie to protect her, magical beings are weak to iron. Brock is a some sort of divinity by the way. The storm calms as it appears that they got rid of the demon and all but one of the iron door mice explode, only one with a broken tail is saved by Callie. The next morning arrives and Fairwick looks like a picturesque ice world. Paul calls Callie to tell her that he won't be able to arrive for Thanksgiving because the plane he was in crashed because of the storm, and he is stranded in another small town. Callie spends Thanksgiving with her newfound friends and neighbors.
In the time that follows Phoenix become more and more secluded. Callie discovers that she is a fraud and that Phoenix is not even her real name. Phoenix relative and a person from a mental institution arrive to take her in. For the next couple of weeks Callie takes her place at the college. Soon there is news of a new poet teacher arriving to take Phoenix's place. His name is Liam Doyle and Callie immediately starts to have a strange interest in him mixed with curiosity and dislike.
Learning more about the truth of Fairwick Callie is informed that Fiona is the fairy queen, Anton Volkov and his crew in fact vampires as she suspected and that Nicky Ballard is a victim of an old witch curse that affects all women in her family. Callie notices that Liz Book is looking weaker than usual, and she has Mara helping her as her assistant. There is another revelation in Callie's life: the iron door mouse that she saved that night came to life and Brock tells her that it's all thanks to her; so Callie has a new friend and protector in form of this small creature.
Callie gets invited by Liz Book to be a part of a ceremony concerning the Faerie world. Liam Doyle is there as well. Callie is about to leave the ceremony, and she captures Fiona and Liam in the closet together. Strangely jealous and angry at this sight Callie leaves but on the way out trips and falls and Liam is behind her helping her and at that moment they share a kiss.
Paul tells Callie that he wants to see her, and he invites her to stay at an expensive hotel, and she is excited because she thinks he is going to propose. After she arrives there and meets with Paul it's a different story; he invited her to end their relationship. Callie is devastated and decides to visit her longtime friend and after that her grandmother Adelaide. Callie's grandmother is a sophisticated and cold woman. Unable to keep it in, Callie tells her what she discovered at Fairwick and Adelaide not only confirms that she knew all about it, she also reveals that she is a witch as well.
On her way back to Fairwick Callie's car gets turned over on ice, and she is forced to take a walk home at the snowy night. She suddenly gets attacked by a huge angry crow and loses Ralph, her mouse, on the way. None other than Liam Doyle rescues her and takes her home, where they spend a passionate night and the next week together.
Vacation is over and classes start again, but there is a strange illness attacking the students, making them fatigued and anemic. Callie is concerned, and she talks to Frank, who we learn is a witch undercover there, and they decide it needs to be investigated. He is also in investigation on who cursed Nicky Ballard's family, same as Callie.
At the end Callie discovers that Liam Doyle is her demon lover and that she brought him to life. With advice of her friends she decides to banish him to the Borderline, which is a place synonymous to hell, and almost banished herself together with him, but he stops her. The one who's been causing the students and teachers to be ill is Mara Marinca. She is a creature from the Faerie, the bird Callie set free at the beginning, and she's the crow who's been viciously attacking her. She attacks Callie in her own home and Callie starts running towards the woods and the Faerie door hoping to send Mara back there before she is able to catch her. At the door Mara almost kills her but Frank helps her and Mara is sent back to Faerie.
Callie is sad because she sent Liam, who loved her despite the circumstances, and she loved him as well, it was her love that made him come to life, to that horrible place. Some time passes and Callie visits her grandmother. The one who cursed Ballard family is Callie's great-grandfather and Callie is able to lift the curse off the poor girl and to be able to get the instructions how Callie accepts her grandmother's deal to join her coven of witches and to be an undercover witch at Fairwick.
The novel ends with Callie lifting the curse off the poor girl and then standing near the woods watching the mist and seeing and feeling Liam's presence there and realizing that the reason she felt for him is that she was drawn to his darkness, she summoned him because she needed him and the lie told out of love, as he said, isn't the worst thing.
