Hungary, 1468.
At Kuszkol, the old-timers say, shadows walk and men go mad. But sixty years after the remote mountain fortress was first abandoned, it is attracting soldiers once again.
The bishop's messenger Andrs carries a letter for the new commander. On his party's northward journey, he downplays the old tales. Yet he cannot explain why the castle's beacon should burn the night before their arrival. Nor why, once they arrive, the garrison is missing. Nor can he explain the mysterious charcoal figures they find etched on the walls.
By the time they settle down for their first night at Kuszkol, Andrs faces an even more pressing question-why is he speaking in his dead wife's voice?