Summary:

Rosalie Ainsworth lives in a Victorian manor with her father. After the death of her enchanting mother Violette, he has grown reclusive and withdrawn. But no matter. She has been left to do as she wishes, which mostly consists of escaping the stone manor (where she has always felt confined) into the haven of her garden. She meets Alice often, her quiet forest friend with whom she shares thoughts and stories, and her nymph sister Sylvia, who lives in the lake. She feeds the fairies, visits Mirror Lake and when not doing any of these things, curls up in the Old Library.

Yet one day, Rosalie wakes up particularly troubled–as though something light, airy and vital were leaving her as she sank with some grotesque weight. When she informs Alice of this, her friend says nothing. The next day, things are different; Alice is beginning to act strangely. Rosalie finds that she can no longer understand even the little things. That night, she dreams of Violette.

In a Victorian setting where an innocent girl's life has long been infused with magic, it comes time to confront something that she cannot truly comprehend. In the lush spirit of a fairytale, the essences of innocence and childhood are explored in their many exquisite facets: the beauty and simplicity of their existence; the melancholy and inevitability of their end.