On a cold, bright day in England, a little girl drowns in a pond. She is the daughter of John Baxter and his wife Laura. Still numb with grief, Laura accompanies John to Venice where he is restoring a church, in the hope that the holiday will help her to recover from the shock of her daughter's death. In Venice, the Baxters meet two old sisters who claim mediumistic connection with the dead girl. The husband scorns the idea, but repeatedly sees a little red-coated figure in shadowy passages by the canals. Then he confronts it...