Jennifer, an Australian girl on the run from her past, turns up in Amsterdam and, in a desperate attempt to blend in, joins a coach-load of tourists on a tour of Holland's old windmills. When the bus breaks down in the middle of nowhere, she and the other tourists are forced to seek shelter in a disused shed beside a sinister windmill where a devil-worshiping miller once ground the bones of locals instead of grain. As members of the group start to disappear, Jennifer learns that they all have something in common – a shared secret that seems to mark them all for doom.

The main character is a miller, who sometimes acts strangely but is otherwise a goodhearted hardworking honest man. He sometimes keeps the villagers up all night by howling. Finally the villagers decide that the miller has to be committed into a mental hospital, where the hero does not have to spend too much time until he escapes. The miller takes to the woods near his home but there he is constantly harassed by the chief of the police with his posse.

In 19th century New England, the lives of a diverse group of people collide through interweaving stories of despair, identity, faith, hope and trust.

Sören, a poor tailor with many children, dreams of becoming a miller and buys the windmill of the village with money he does not have.