For twelve years, Prospero, former Duchess of Milan and a practitioner of the magical arts, has been marooned on a remote island with her daughter, Miranda. They landed there by chance after Prospero’s brother, Antonio (aided by Alonso, King of Naples), deposed her from her throne and cast her and Miranda – then not quite three years old – out to sea in a decaying and ill-equipped vessel. Prospero has spent her exile establishing dominion over the island’s other inhabitants, the monstrous creature Caliban and the spirit Ariel. Now, alerted by a sign in the heavens that Antonio and Alonso are within reach of her vengeance, she uses her magical powers to raise a storm at sea that brings them and the others aboard their ship, including Alonso’s son, Ferdinand, to the same island. With Ariel’s help, Prospero orchestrates a confrontation with her old enemies – and a new destiny for Miranda.
