When a princess is born in the kingdom of Connacht, all the townspeople celebrate...all, that is, except one. The Goblin of Lough Gill hates all things good and joyful. Enraged by the jubilation, he threatens to take away the king and queen's greatest joy if they do not immediately cease their "sickening sound." Fearful of the goblin's threat, the kingdom becomes a land of quietness. But on Princess Sorcha's twelfth birthday, she becomes restless and convinces her friend, Una, to sneak out with her to explore the forbidden land outside the castle. By and by they arrive to Lough Gill, where the goblin lives in a cave on a dreary island. Their playful sounds disturb the goblin who then acts upon his earlier threat and abducts the princess! The king is advised by Dearbhla, the wise old woman who lives on the faeries' lake isle, that only a combination of the greatest of human spirit with the best of nature's glory--will save his beloved daughter. Can the townspeople create such a day to defeat the goblin's badness and rescue their princess?