Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, who has written and directed all of his most popular films, "Lady In the Water" is a tale that Shyamalan created for his children as a bedtime story. It is the tale of a man who discovers an unusual woman inhabiting the hidden areas near the pool of his apartment complex. Her name is Story, and she is a narf, a creature from another world that has become trapped in our world and must find her home or die.

Cleveland Heep has not had an easy life. As a way to escape from his checkered past, Cleveland takes a job as the manager and caretaker of an apartment complex named “The Cove.“ At The Cove, Cleveland is able to lose himself in the mundane and occupy his mind with the endless tasks that come with taking care of a building. Realizing that there is something odd happening near the apartment pool, Cleveland eventually unearths a strange secret: there is a person living beneath the pool. When Cleveland finally finds the person, he is immediately taken with her beauty and vows to help her no matter what her situation.

Gradually, Cleveland uncovers the woman’s story, but has to work hard to believe her, since her narrative is so fantastic. The woman is not actually a human, but a narf, a creature who inhabits a storybook land. She was lost and is now stuck between her own world and ours. Now she must return to her world before time runs out or she will die. Not only must Story find a way to get home before her time is up, she must also avoid the evil creatures who work desperately to prevent her from getting back. In the course of trying to help the beautiful nymph, Cleveland falls in love with her and realizes that his own world may not be what he always imagined. Everyone at The Cove appears to be a part of the same fairytale.

Story has the uncanny ability to recognize the gifts that some of the apartment residents have, and with these gifts they must figure out clues to help her get home. With the same ability, Story also knows that if the clues aren’t interpreted in time, all of their lives will end, since their fate is tied together.

The film stars several well loved actors, including Paul Giamatti (“Cinderella Man”), Jeffery Wright (“Angels In America”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“The Village”), and Bob Balaban (“Gosford Park”).