Austria, 1860: 18-year-old Laura, kept in a remote castle in the Styrian forests, mourns the sudden death of her only pen-friend – when a carriage crash brings an unexpected guest into her life: the free-sprited Carmilla, who encourages Laura to venture beyond the boundaries of her sheltered existence. When a mysterious illness begins to claim girls from the local village of Karnstein, the culprit seems easily identified – and Laura, Carmilla and their friends must untangle a web of love, fear, vengeance and old magic, spun around the tomb of Karnstein's last Countess. Will their unusual bond prove strong enough to prevail against these odds, even though death – and after?