Adapted from Charles O'Neal's 1949 book, this follows the lighthearted adventures of a late 19th Century young man named Jamie McGrew, the three wishes granted to him in a dream by a fairy queen, and the unusual way they come true. His first is for travel (he goes from Ireland to a life of horse trading in Georgia); his second, to marry the girl of his dreams; the third, a son with the gift of poetry and the ability to speak in the ancient Gaelic tongue.

In pre-famine Ireland, when poverty and magic were rife, introverted farm girl Maura discovers a magical world of the imagination through the mysterious wanderer Scarf Michael. When her isolated rural community accuses her of witchcraft, she turns to her own supernatural powers for protection.

The story of Anne Devlin, who was caught up in the revolt of the Irish under Robert Emmett in 1803, told exclusively from the woman's point of view.