Anticipating a peaceful and relaxing year in which to write and illustrate a book, college professor Jan Ryerson and his artist wife Alix move to the isolated Cape Despair Lighthouse on a desolate stretch of Oregon coast. But their well-laid plans are twisted awry shortly after their arrival. Jan experiences several terrifying blackouts, but conceals them from his wife, fearing that she will leave him if she realizes that he will soon be blind. The villagers, suspicious of the couple from the start, become increasingly hostile and resentful, and when the murdered body of a young woman is discovered, are quick to blame the stranger in town, Jan...