With the help of a mysterious fairy queen who provides monstrous but gentle creatures to aid him, a miner's son takes on the dangerous task of helping the king and princess confound their enemies and save the kingdom.
Princess Irene's discovery of a secret stair to the top turret of the castle leads to a wonderful revelation. At the same time, the miner's son Curdie overhears a fiendish plot by the goblins who live below the mountain. But it will take all their wit and courage, and the help of Irene's magic ring, to make sense of their separate knowledge and foil the goblins' schemes.