Nicholas Herron, an American soldier falsely accused of desertion, accepts a job offer from a wealthy, though enigmatic elderly woman and finds himself in another world helping to prevent a catastrophic war. Although uncertain whether this other world is a dream or another dimension entirely, he begins to suspect his actions there will reflect back in the world from which he came. In the course of his adventures, he finds love and confronts death, including his own. Gradually, he begins to discover the unimaginable truth of his own being.