Gregoria always to change her name to Celia and prayed for a better life. An unexpected encounter with a stranger reveals the existence of a sanctuary where "one must go dead or alive". Open now to hope and fresh possibilities, Gregoria resolves to put an end to her present existence. She changes her appearance and runs to Northern Spain in search of another identity. Now called Celia, Gregoria starts her new life as a nanny to the only son of a well-to-do Galician family. Rumours about the house - inexplicable illusions - gradually invade Celia's world. Tormented by "ghosts", and her own paranoia, Celia resolves to protect the boy. She begins to see danger for the boy everywhere. Her powerful, terrifying response irretrievably changes the world around her.