after the sudden death of his wife billy's father decides to move back to the family homestead in a sleepy little town. billy is not amused until he discovers the closet in his new bedroom has magical powers of transporting him to key moments in his family's past. he encounters the witch in her den (his formidable grandmother), a wannabe elvis impersonator, and his father's younger self. he finds that time travel carries greater consequences in his personal and social life than he had at first imagined.