A Prussian husband, known only as the Grim One, a best friend whose weeks-long stay strains their friendship, and a know-it-all visitor from civilized England. They all inhabit Elizabeth's garden, her favorite place, her oasis of tranquility. Elizabeth von Arnim masterfully narrates how she transforms the overgrown garden of her Prussian estate into a paradise and how, despite unwanted intruders and disruptive side characters, she repeatedly succumbs to the wondrous magic that the scent of damp earth and the blooming silence around her evoke.