Valerie, a curious and adventurous 13-year-old girl, finds herself embroiled in a mysterious and supernatural world after a simple incident involving her earrings. One night, while she is peacefully sleeping, a thief steals her earrings, prompting her to investigate. During her search, she is startled by a menacing figure—the Constable, a masked and frightening man who seems to hold dark secrets. Surprisingly, the thief returns her earrings the following day, which infuriates the Constable and hints at deeper, more sinister motives.
Back at home, Valerie's grandmother, Nina Divíšková, explains that her earrings were originally belonging to Valerie’s mother, who left them behind when she joined a convent. These earrings are not just jewelry but are linked to a past involving the Constable, who once owned their house. As Valerie tries to piece together her history, she learns that a group of missionaries and actors is arriving in town, bringing an air of anticipation and change to her quiet life.
During her neighbor Hedvika’s wedding, Valerie notices the Constable watching her from the crowd, and her grandmother also seems to recognize him, adding a layer of suspicion and intrigue. Then, she receives a mysterious letter from the thief, Orlík, known as "Eaglet," warning her that the Constable, who is also his uncle, murdered Orlík’s parents. Orlík desperately asks Valerie to meet him at the church that evening, revealing his romantic feelings towards her during their encounter.
Later, Valerie encounters the Constable in disguise on the street. He pulls her into a secret chamber where her grandmother, Elsa, Nina Divíšková, threatens to harm herself, trying to revive a lost love, a priest named Gracián. Orlík then takes Valerie away, warning her that his uncle is in love with her. As the story unfolds, Elsa—under the alias Richard—confesses that she has loved no one since the day he seduced and abandoned her when she was just 17. Richard then offers her a dark bargain: he promises to restore her youth if she sells him the house Valerie will inherit.
Meanwhile, Orlík presents Valerie with a pearl for protection, and she must stay hidden from Richard again. During a picnic, Gracián confidently claims that Orlík is Valerie’s brother. That night, Gracián attempts to assault Valerie in her bedroom, but she instinctively swallows the pearl, using it as a protective charm. Elsa, in her vampiric form, also shows up—biting Hedvika to steal her blood, seeking her own revival and youthful transformation.
The danger intensifies as Valerie discovers Orlík shackled near a waterfall, and she manages to free him, taking him to her home. Their reunion, however, is complicated by the fact that Valerie believes they might be siblings, so she blindfolds Orlík to keep her feelings under control. The shocking discovery of Gracián hanging dead from Valerie’s window leads them to a crypt beneath her house, where Elsa is revealed to be a vampire. Dressed as a distant cousin, Elsa tries to steal Valerie’s earrings again and even attempts to bite her during the night.
Valerie’s resilience shines through as she fights back, and Orlík confesses his love for her. He reveals that he is not her father’s son, but actually Richard’s, and tries to explain their complex relationship. Feeling overwhelmed, Valerie runs away, suspecting Elsa is her true grandmother and realizing that her feelings for Richard, now dying, have grown. She then takes a chicken to Richard, who has just confessed that he is her biological father—a secret that makes her blood essential for his survival.
The situation turns deadly when Richard, transformed into a monster, attacks Valerie after she heals him with her blood. He plans to transplant Orlík’s heart into her to grant her immortality, but Elsa, now fully control of her vampiric self, also covets this power. Valerie overhears their deadly plan while pretending to be unconscious, and she soon revives Gracián—who was presumed dead—and finds a farewell letter from Orlík, revealing his deep love and sacrifice.
As Valerie faces the chaos afterward, she encounters Hedvika—sick and despondent from Elsa’s bite—who spends a night with her, healing her emotional wounds. Outside, Gracián falsely accuses Valerie of witchcraft, ordering her to be captured and burned. Yet, Valerie’s resolve and the magic earrings save her, allowing her to escape amid the chaos. She tricks Richard into drinking one of the enchanted earrings, transforming him into a polecat, and scene shifts into a surreal dreamlike sequence. Valerie reunites with Orlík, who is revealed to be one of the actors at the church, then encounters Elsa—who has no memory of recent events—and her long-lost parents in a fantastical reunion.
The story culminates in an eerie forest where everyone, including the singing virgins, dances around Valerie, who finally falls asleep alone in a bed in the woods, symbolizing her journey through love, pain, and awakening to her true self. The film’s haunting and poetic narrative explores themes of love, identity, supernatural curses, and the desire for eternal youth, blending dark fairy tale elements with a poetic portrayal of a young girl’s awakening to her hidden past.
