Everyone knows the Hag lurks in her bower in the Old Wood of Annisthorpe listening for children to seize and devour them, but fourteen year old Tom Gibson is beginning to wonder if the famous local legend is more than just a story. When a construction company buys the Old Wood to replace the trees with new houses, Tom's interest in the story escalates and he attracts the attention of strange, morphing shadows who follow him everywhere like benign spirits. He goes to the wood with his video camera to film the trees before they are felled, but while there uncovers a mystery deeper than he ever imagined. Now Tom sets out to untangle the puzzle of the Old Wood before fresh new houses obliterate the ancient trees he loves.