The Parson of the title is not a cleric but an upright young army officer so nicknamed for his apparent prudishness. On leave in his native homeland, he meets Rejane, a rich and beguiling beauty, the woman of his dreams. The days that the Parson spends with Rejane, riding in and exploring the wild moorland, have their own enchantment, but Rejane grows restless in this desolate landscape. Although doubtless in love with the Parson, she discourages any intimacy, until she persuades him to take her to a sinister castle situated on a treacherous headland.