When the barrier between worlds thins and spice hangs in the air, an ancient djinn named Sahar leaves the greedy wishes of men behind and wanders into the festivities of a small English village.
He means to revel, misbehave, and return to servitude and trickery, until a lonely young girl named Beatrix offers him a gift and a letter, then refuses to be frightened.
For three days each year, when creatures from the other side may touch her world, Bea exchanges letters with the friend she calls Jack O' the Tree, who never shows his face or tells her where he has been.
Beatrix grows up, her feelings shift, and she becomes engaged to a man she hardly knows, leaving Sahar unable to bear the thought of losing her.
Even he cannot break certain rules, and she has only until All Soul's Day runs out to speak the words that might let him help her.
