Fleeing a scandal that shattered his career as a painter, Oscar retreats to the English countryside expecting to live off his inheritance in peace. What he finds is a crumbling, ivy-choked castle that has been abandoned for nearly a decade, more haunted ruin than stately home. His plan for solitary seclusion crumbles immediately when he meets Evie, a willful six-year-old girl who barges into his life claiming she has been hired as his servant. Unable to send her away after learning of her lonely circumstances, Oscar reluctantly agrees to let her stay, and the two begin the monumental task of transforming the dilapidated building into a home.

The story follows their day-to-day efforts to clean, repair, and furnish the ancient structure, from clearing decades of dust and cobwebs to patching leaky roofs and restoring crumbling walls. Along the way, they navigate the complexities of British heritage-building regulations, discover the quirks of rural English life, and develop an unlikely bond. Oscar's deep-seated trauma from a university incident that cost him his ability to paint slowly begins to surface, while Evie's own past, tied to her grandmother who once served as a maid in the castle, is gradually revealed. Their relationship is marked by bickering and mischief, but also by quiet moments of mutual care that inch them closer to becoming a family. The narrative deepens in the second volume when a figure from Oscar's traumatic past arrives, threatening both his fragile recovery and the mysterious "Forest Ivy" itself, a key item linked to his former life. The pair also adopt a dog, turn a canal boat into an additional living space, and celebrate an English Christmas, all while the castle's secrets and Oscar's hidden history come into sharper focus.