Young Toby lives on his wits. An orphan and a street-child, he navigates Jacobean London like an old hand. Meanwhile the city has lost its charm for Will Shakespeare, the playwright from Stratford. Beset by troubles personal and professional and suffering from writer's block, he has grown to hate the drama business. But when Toby stumbles into the Globe, the boy's energy and enthusiasm remind Will of the magic that first inspired his love of the theatre, and the two set to work on a new entertainment for The Tempest.