The King of Sicily, suddenly becoming insanely jealous of his Queen and his boyhood friend, now King of Bohemia, seeks the lives of both. His friend manages to flee back to Bohemia, but the Queen is put on trial, and her newborn, Perdita, is transported to the Bohemian wilderness, where she is abandoned. When the god Apollo announces the innocence of the accused couple, the King of Sicily defies the god and is swiftly punished by the announcements of the death first of his son and then of his Queen. For sixteen years he mourns. Then back comes Perdita to Sicily, and wonders begin to happen.
