The story of The Apparition alternates between two time periods, 2010 and 1910-20. In 2010, the main character is ANNA. In 1910-20, the main character is CHRISTINA. The two narrative strands are linked by the village of Staithes, on the beautiful, rugged North Yorkshire coast.
Anna has inherited a small 'fisherman's cottage in Staithes. In the middle of a divorce from a controlling husband, she visits occasionally at weekend to get away from things, to help maintain her sanity and to think. Her peaceful weekends are disturbed, however, by the increasing sense that there is a 'presence' in the cottage.
Christina Tasse is a young artist. Her potential has been recognised, and she now has the opportunity to work with her mentor, Charles Penner, some years older, as an apprentice, at Staithes. On the verge of womanhood, in Edwardian England, she is both excited and apprehensive about what lies ahead.
The two narratives finally merge when the apparition materialises and silently leads Anna to a special place along the cliffs near Staithes. As Christina paints, Anna looks at the scene, and the two share a kind of epiphany of self-realisation.