A guilt ridden college professor arrives too late to witness the expulsion of the mixed raced residents of a small is island of the coast of Maine. He feels he is responsible for the eviction until he meets the island's former school teacher who introduces him to another reality and a curious romance.In June of 1912, Professor Thaddeus Mallory of Bowdoin College journey's to Phippsburg ME to witness the expulsion of the mixed race resident of Malaga. He is not an innocent witness. As a proponent of the new eugenics movement he feels he is partially responsible for the eviction. He has always been more than curious about the rumors of supernatural incidents occurring on the island. He meets Shirley Shapleigh, Malaga's former spinster school teacher who relates the history of the island and it's residents in a series of tales of virtue found in a mysterious book. One of the stories reveals that the residents' ancestors are from the caves of Malaga on the Mediterranean Sea. As Thaddeus and Shirley share the stories they surrender their veils of self pity and a romance develops.