Nettle is a Bluebell faerie from the lush lands of Sceanth, where fae are taught from birth about choosing their life veins, a stage in their development in which they slip into cocoons and experience dream-like excursions into other worlds. There are dangers, however, and Bluebell faeries risk losing themselves in their dreams if they do not choose their life veins carefully. Nettle has never found happiness in following the traditions of the Bluebells, nor does she know how to properly deal with her indecisive feelings for her girlfriend Piper and for her secret boyfriend, the satyr prince Brawn. So Nettle seeks comfort in her cocoon, in the hopes that she might discover a happiness that has so far eluded her.

She wakes in the dark realm of Erw, in a turn-of-the-century fishing village on the shore of a sentient ocean, amidst unrelenting fog, black trees, and a rumored witch who seemingly controls it all. Worse, Nettle soon discovers she cannot wake from this dream. When a local fishergirl helps the faerie make sense of this world, Nettle must decide if she wishes to wake in Sceanth again, or if she will stay in Erw with the comforts she's found. But the Erw Witch won't stop until she destroys the very thing that haunts her own dreams: the Bluebell faerie herself.