Storytelling abounds on many levels in this tale of Fritz, a writer who spins a spine-tingling tale in the tavern to cheer up his buddy Karl, an apprentice clock maker who is distraught over his failure to craft a figure for the town clock. When a mysterious stranger offers Karl his heart's desire, a finely wrought clockwork knight to display in the town clock, he can't resist taking it—yet there is a price to pay for such favors.