An amateur production of The Tempest provides a colorful backdrop for a hilarious look at unrequited love. Mathematics teacher Hector Mackilwraith, stirred and troubled by Shakespeare's play, falls in love with the beautiful heiress Griselda Webster. When Griselda shows she has plans of her own, Hector despairs on the play's opening night.

Weaving a tapestry of wonderfully developed characters, smoldering rivalries, and witty satire, Robertson Davies introduces the first book in the Salterton trilogy—a modern classic.