Young Digory is miserable living in London with his eccentric Uncle and Aunt. And why not? His mother is bed-ridden from a terrible disease, and his Uncle Andrew is downright peculiar. But Digory finds hope through his friendship with Polly next door. One rainy day, they go exploring in the rafters of their townhouses. They want to sneak into the attic of the empty house on the end but instead wind up in Uncle Andrew's secret study. While there, Uncle Andrew tricks them into trying on some strange Rings that he claims are magic. And they are.

Digory and Polly enjoy one adventure after another — to strange worlds and lost cities until, in the desolate land of Charn, they awaken the evil Queen Jadis from an enchanted slumber. Digory and Polly try to escape her but wind up bringing her back to London instead. There she makes a servant of Uncle Andrew and wreaks havoc on the streets. Using the magic Rings once more, Digory and Polly manage to get the Queen out of London, only to find that they've also brought with them Uncle Andrew, a London cabbie named Frank, and his horse. But where are they? Surrounded by utter darkness they can only wonder.

A voice from somewhere sings softly. The lower notes seem to come from the earth itself. Suddenly, stars appear, flowers and trees erupt and humps of earth bubble up to become all sorts of appreciative creatures. And then Aslan the Great Lion, the creator of this paradise, approaches them.

Never before in the history of time has there been nor will there ever again be a world like this one. But Uncle Andrew is already making ambitious plans, and Queen Jadis is already scheming to unleash her power to conquer this world. Will she succeed? Can the strange Lion thwart her? Or will it fall to Digory to somehow undo the damage he has inadvertently brought into this world?