Innocence and evil have become oneA deaf-mute little girl called Alice has a vision—a lady in shimmering white who says she is the immaculate conception. Suddnely, Alice can hear, speak, and perform miracles. Soon the site of Alice"s visitation, beneath an ancient oak tree, becomes a shrine, a holy place for thousands of pilgrims. But Alice is no longer the guileless child overwhelmed by her new saintliness. She has become the agent of something corrupt, a vile force that is centuries old.