Sally and Gilian Owens have always known they were different. Raised by their aunts after their parents' death, the sisters grew up in a 'special' household. Attempting to pass on the unique and powerful psychic heritage of the Owens women, Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances hope to give their nieces the strength that comes from practical magic. But the invocation of the Owens' socery also carries a price--some call it a curse: the men they fall in love with are doomed to an untimely death. Trying to distance herself from her foremothers, the quieter Sally denies her powers and strives to build herself a 'normal' magic-free life. The more fiery Gillian, reckless and restless and thrilled by her pull over men. When Gillian meets Jimmy, a malevolent drifter, she unwittingly sets off a chain of explosive events that brings police officer Gary Hallet onto the family porch and into Sally's heart, while releasing a swarm of supernatural forces that threatens the lives of all the Owen women.