Determined to make a life for herself and her daughter, Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney), a young widow, moves into a cottage overlooking the windswept English coast. She soon learns that it's haunted by the ghost of its former owner, a salty sea captain (Rex Harrison). But the Captain's effort to scare off his new tenant soon develops into a most unlikely love affair.

When Lucy runs out of money, the Captain "ghost writes" a book for her based on his life story. Their publishing success, however, brings her the amorous attentions of a man who's still very much alive (George Sanders).

Soon Lucy must decide between the pleasures of the spirit and those of the flesh, and the Captain must choose a course that may haunt him forever.