Eight-year-old Princess Irene lives a lonely life in a castle in a wild, desolate, mountainous kingdom, with only her nursemaid. Irene has never known about the existence of the goblins, which lurk in the underground mines but her nursemaid Lootie does know about them. These goblins are grotesque and hideous beings, who centuries ago were human, but for various reasons, they were driven underground to become malformed and distorted by their new lifestyle.