In the years since the end of The Princess and the Goblin, Curdie has managed to convince himself that the supernatural events of that tale were products of his wild imagination.
But then events draw him back to Grandmother -- that is, Mother Wotherwop, Princess Irene's great-great-great-grandmother, the Lady of the Silver Moon -- and Curdie regains his innocence and his faith. The Lady sends him on a quest to help the king and princess confound their enemies -- and save the kingdom!
Jeffrey Holdaway, in the New Zealand Art Monthly, said that it contains layers of symbolism similar to that of Lewis Carroll's work. The sequel to The Princess and the Goblin.