A young painter Walter Hartright unexpectedly received a good job offer. On his way home from his mother place he encountered a mysterious woman dressed in white walking alone who asked him for directions – in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere, mind you. The guy though that he would never see her again especially in his new place of employment where he taught a young woman painting. He fell in love with her – way beyond his social standing. It does not help much that her late father had a wish of her marring his friend. The latter has a very dark secret known to the Woman in White.