In 1968, an eight-year-old's drawings take on a power beyond her wildest imaginings after the sudden and unexpected death of her verbally abusive and devoutly religious godmother.

Death looms when a desperate insomniac thinks he has found a cure for his sleepless nights with the purchase of a magical pillow.

A deal he made as a young man comes back to haunt a now wealthy New Orleanian, forcing him ultimately to choose between love and self-sacrifice or greed and egotistical desire.