It's the spring of 1945, and Claire Randall, an English ex-army nurse, has come to the Scottish Highlands on a second honeymoon with her husband, Frank, from whom she's been separated during the war. While Frank spends his time researching his ancestors, Claire pursues an interest in botany. One of the locals agrees to show her around Inverness' plant life, and he brings her to an ancient circle of standing stones. When she tells Frank about the stones, he is intrigued, saying he had heard that the circle is still in use by a local group of women who celebrate the "old ways" there. In the dawn of the ancient Feast of Beltane, Claire and Frank creep up to the circle to see the women dancing and chanting, calling down the sun. The couple steal away unseen but later Claire returns to the circle to get a closer look at an unusual plant she had seen growing there. This time, however, Claire is overcome by a strange buzzing sound that seems to be coming from the large cleft stone in the circle. When she touches it, she is enveloped in a sudden vortex of noise and confusion.
