Our hero Iffleplum is no ordinary ifflepinn. He dreams of dashing deeds and derring-do and saving damsels in distress. But on finding himself entrapped in a faery mushroom ring and menaced by the shambling shadow-creatures known as Gropes, he thinks again-too late -- "Don't throw your heart away on wild deeds," his Iffle-mother Mumkin had warned him. But alas when his wild wishes suddenly come true, in fearful shock, the spirit of his heart flies...