Following an accident provoked by her husband's infidelity, Anna Menzies tragically miscarries their child. Douglas Menzies suggests a retreat from London, where he works as a composer, to their common homeland, the wild landscape of North West Scotland. Inspired by the dramatic coastlines, lochs and mountains, they renew their love and he begins his long cherished dream of composing a symphony.

But one terrible night as the elements rage and a ship founders on the rocks beneath their isolated cottage, Anna dies in childbirth. The tragedy fuels Menzies with a new and consuming quest; to find Anna beyond death through his music. It is a spiritual journey to penetrate "the other landscape".

Menzies chronicles these events in an extraordinary short story which lands on the desk of a London literary magazine. David Urquhart, a young anthropology lecturer and friend of the editor is sent to track down Menzies. David's search becomes a journey of discovery as Menzies leads him away from his scientific rationalism into a more intuitive understanding of the universe.

As Menzies imparts his experiences to him, David's imagination is released and he falls in love with Catherine, a local girl and who was once close to both Anna and Menzies. Now following the path Menzies has set for him, David finds himself a participant in an ever more more powerful cycle of recurrence.

Meanwhile at the local hotel, a retired Major attempts to reverse Menzies' growing influence on Urquhart. But his cynicism and fear of the unknown is no match for the composer's romantic creativity. The relentless exploration of love, death and spirituality is played out against a background of feuding between the Major and Catherine's father, Lachlan. This develops into a suspected murder and a fire at the hotel. But behind them a rich complement of local characters view the turbulent events with wit, humour, and ironic detachment.