A Yankee student stays at a country house called Tanglewood during a golden New England fall. Also at the house are about a dozen children: younger cousins of the student and their friends of varying ages. The student, as much to amuse himself as to amuse the children, organises games and activities and tells stories. And the stories he tells are wild and fantastic. When his store of fairy tales and folk legends is exhausted he hits on the idea of retelling Greek Myths in his own style.

We visit Tanglewood six times during the course of a year and hear six of the student's beautifully told stories: The Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, A Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, The Miraculous Pitcher and The Chimaera. (Summary by Clive Catterall)