The Reversed Hermit tells the tale of Noam Lewin, a successful London insurance broker. His life seems to be complete, but after tragedy strikes, he abandons his highly paid job to live as a hermit and seek enlightenment in the woodlands above a northern spa town.

The townsfolk are curious, and a close-knit group of drinking companions in The White Harte pub decide to find out what makes the man tick. Talking with Noam, they find their lives are changed, and when sales assistant Alice is admitted into their clique, events accelerate. A devout Catholic, her priest learns about her existential malaise and decides to visit the catalyst: the hermit.

Father O'Malley is no more immune to the hermit's words than the laymen, and soon a whole series of life-changing events occur in the spa. But are they for better or for worse?