Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
The story takes place in 1944, over the course of five chapters. It centers around Fran, a ten-year-old girl with a happy family. One day, a monster appears and she finds her parents brutally dismembered. The girl flees from her house, only to collapse in the nearby woods and be brought into Oswald Asylum. Now she has to deal with her mental condition, as well as being separated from her black cat, and only friend, Mr. Midnight.
Chapter 1
Fran is distressed during her time in the asylum, denying mental issues and asking for her kitty. Under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Deern, she is administered Duotine pills, an experimental drug to treat her "madness". It causes vivid hallucinations of a phantasmagoric parallel universe, filling the room with blood, mutilated bodies and shadowy entities. The side effects make the doctor decide to stop the treatment, but Fran's visions tell her she needs the pills in order to escape and reunite with her beloved cat.
In multiple instances, an evil creature with horns, called Remor, appears with the apparent intent to taunt and torment the young girl. Ultimately she is able to get out of her imprisonment, by fleeing into a nocturnal forest in which she encounters ghostly nature spirits.
Chapter 2
She finds Mr. Midnight, but they end up trapped together in a haunted house that belongs to conjoined twins named Clara and Mia Buhalmet. The sisters claim they want Fran to complete a ritual to separate them. The young girl eventually tricks the two, takes her cat and escapes. When the girl attempts to cross a bridge of roots, it frays and collapses.
Chapter 3
Fran awakens to discover that she has been transformed into a tree in a brighter world called Ithersta, a land where vegetables, insects, pine cones, and roots live in harmony. There she meets Palontras who helps her return home.
Chapter 4
After departing Ithersta, Fran meets Itward, a giant skeletal creature. She discovers that it was Itward who had helped her in her search for Mr. Midnight. Itward tries to take Fran back home in his flying machine. While in the flying machine, Itward throws a surprise party for Fran's eleventh birthday.
However, the flying machine is sabotaged into crashing by evil spirits, and Fran Bow and Itward are separated. Fran awakens near her home where she is taken away by Dr. Deern. After visiting Fran's parents' grave, Remor appears and captures them.
Chapter 5
She is trapped in a hell-like dimension, ruled by Remor's mother, Mabuka. It is revealed Fran's aunt, Grace, and Dr. Oswald, who experimented on Grace and Fran's mother, had Remor possess Fran to murder her parents believing Fran's suffering is key to his experiment. After Oswald shoots her, Itward and Palontras come to save Fran, killing Grace and Oswald. After being revived, Fran, Mr. Midnight, Itward, and Palontras fly away with Fran resolving to be happy despite everything.
Throughout the game, Fran and other characters grapple with psychological trauma, survive the abuse of parents and doctors, and learn what it means to live amongst many types of beings and spirits.
Chapter 1
Fran is distressed during her time in the asylum, denying mental issues and asking for her kitty. Under the care of psychiatrist Dr. Deern, she is administered Duotine pills, an experimental drug to treat her "madness". It causes vivid hallucinations of a phantasmagoric parallel universe, filling the room with blood, mutilated bodies and shadowy entities. The side effects make the doctor decide to stop the treatment, but Fran's visions tell her she needs the pills in order to escape and reunite with her beloved cat.
In multiple instances, an evil creature with horns, called Remor, appears with the apparent intent to taunt and torment the young girl. Ultimately she is able to get out of her imprisonment, by fleeing into a nocturnal forest in which she encounters ghostly nature spirits.
Chapter 2
She finds Mr. Midnight, but they end up trapped together in a haunted house that belongs to conjoined twins named Clara and Mia Buhalmet. The sisters claim they want Fran to complete a ritual to separate them. The young girl eventually tricks the two, takes her cat and escapes. When the girl attempts to cross a bridge of roots, it frays and collapses.
Chapter 3
Fran awakens to discover that she has been transformed into a tree in a brighter world called Ithersta, a land where vegetables, insects, pine cones, and roots live in harmony. There she meets Palontras who helps her return home.
Chapter 4
After departing Ithersta, Fran meets Itward, a giant skeletal creature. She discovers that it was Itward who had helped her in her search for Mr. Midnight. Itward tries to take Fran back home in his flying machine. While in the flying machine, Itward throws a surprise party for Fran's eleventh birthday.
However, the flying machine is sabotaged into crashing by evil spirits, and Fran Bow and Itward are separated. Fran awakens near her home where she is taken away by Dr. Deern. After visiting Fran's parents' grave, Remor appears and captures them.
Chapter 5
She is trapped in a hell-like dimension, ruled by Remor's mother, Mabuka. It is revealed Fran's aunt, Grace, and Dr. Oswald, who experimented on Grace and Fran's mother, had Remor possess Fran to murder her parents believing Fran's suffering is key to his experiment. After Oswald shoots her, Itward and Palontras come to save Fran, killing Grace and Oswald. After being revived, Fran, Mr. Midnight, Itward, and Palontras fly away with Fran resolving to be happy despite everything.
Throughout the game, Fran and other characters grapple with psychological trauma, survive the abuse of parents and doctors, and learn what it means to live amongst many types of beings and spirits.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Fran Bow. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license