In the spring of 1930, Philip Rhayader, a gentle twenty-seven-year-old man, purchases and moves into an abandoned lighthouse studio in the Great Marsh, located on the Essex coast of England. Rhayader has a hunchback and clawed hand, which do not impede his daily work, but distance him from his community. When Rhayader feels that his warmth and friendliness were constantly unreciprocated, he isolates himself to avoid such insincere interactions.   Rhayader finds pleasure in building sanctuaries for the geese, ducks, and other birds around the lighthouse. He also spends time sailing and painting. He keeps some birds pinioned so that when others migrated there for winter, they would recognize the location as having food and sanctuary. Rhayader recalls seeing the same birds that left in the spring, later return in the fall, feeling fulfilled by his safe haven for the birds.   Three years after his settlement, Rhayader finds a little girl holding a wounded bird in front of his home. The girl, Frith, had a Saxon accent and was terrified of Rhayader's deformed appearance, but nonetheless stayed as Rhayader mended the bird's wounds. Rhayader, bewildered to find that the bird is a Canadian snow goose, wonders how it got to Essex. He creates a tale about the snow goose's migration for Frith and names it the Lost Princess. Frith, although nervous, promises to return the following day to check on the goose.   Over a period of several years, Frith and Rhayader care for the birds together. The snow goose becomes familiar with Rhayader; it returns during every migration and frequently follows him around the beach. In May of 1940, Rhayader prepares his sailboat, telling Frith he must go to Dunkirk to contribute to the rescuing of the trapped British army. Frith promises Rhayader that she will care for the birds in his absence. When Rhayader leaves, the snow goose flies over his boat, following him.   In a pub, English soldiers recall the rescue from Dunkirk, remembering Rhayader and the snow goose. One soldier compares Rhayader to God and the snow goose to an angel, and the soldiers remarked on their inseparability in even the most dangerous voyages. Then, in an officer’s club years later, naval officers reflect on the evacuation of Dunkirk, revealing that Rhayader got machine-gunned to death in his boat, with the snow goose perched at his side and pecking at anyone who came close.   After several days of waiting for Rhayader at the lighthouse, Frith understood he would not return. When the snow goose returned, she felt that Rhayader’s spirit was in it. She wished the bird Godspeed as it finally departed for good. Frith kept returning to feed the pinioned birds, but one morning, a German pilot bombs the lighthouse. Thinking it was an active military objective, the German army destroys the lighthouse, and its memory, for good.