A girl named Mary Frances takes a holiday to an enchanted island of story people, where tales celebrate truth, beauty, courage, and kindness; during a voyage aboard the Good Ferry she encounters a pirate and his cat, an old witch, and a lost story that must be recovered, then spends several days hearing and retelling a varied assortment of folktales, fairy tales, poems, moral stories, and adventures — including mischievous children, magic objects, knights' quests for the Holy Grail, a tiny town's adventures, and other moral and fantastical episodes — presented as a framed collection of narratives and illustrations.