Lonely artist Colette Lesan g lives in a large old house in the north of New York State, where she runs a kindergarten and teaches her pets French language and painting. But behind Colette’s young appearance hide centuries of suffering and inner pain, stretching back to the time her vampire grandfather gave her immortality. Now, in 1984, she feels like she has learned to live with this unwanted and unasked-for gift—until the appearance of a talented child from a troubled family threatens to destroy her fragile world.