Dawn is disappointed that a blinding snowstorm has prevented her, Cree, and the twins from traveling to be with his sister Wintra for the birth of her first bairn. To keep Dawn's mind off her disappointment and entertain some of the villagers who have sought the safety of the keep, Old Mary tells a tale—Winter Tale—that enthralls as much as it frightens.

At the end of the tale, a stranger suddenly appears and peculiar things begin to happen in the keep. Could the tale be true? Did Old Mary release the evil of the Winter Tale upon the village? Cree will not hear of such nonsense, but when some in the keep begin to fall ill along with Old Mary and Elsa, the healer, Cree begins to wonder. And he knows it will not be long before his wife does as she pleases and searches for the truth, possibly placing herself in danger.

Is the stranger a mere man who seeks shelter from the storm or the phantom of Winter Tale?