Teenager Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) is obsessed with his urge to finish high school, go on to college, and leave behind the small town of Gatlin, South Carolina, until a mysterious girl invades his dreams. When he meets Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), a newcomer who has just enrolled in his school, he knows she's the girl in his dreams. Lena is rejected by the rest of her classmates for being the niece of Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons), whom the town's superstitious residents consider to be a devil-worshiper. But Ethan gives her a ride anyway and they fall in love. Lena reveals to her new boyfriend that she is a witch, and that on her 16th birthday she will be claimed by either the forces of light or of darkness. She can only remain in the light if she doesn't remain in love with Ethan. Worse, her evil mother Sarafine (Dame Emma Thompson) is casting spells to push her to the dark side. Ethan joins her in a search to find a magic spell to save their doomed love. Will they succeed?