The authors create a completely new approach to Goethe, encouraging both first-time and repeated readings of his work and fostering an intense engagement with the classic. On May 26, 1890, the British sailing ship Black Prince drifts aimlessly in the Persian Gulf. Pearl divers, cautiously approaching the ship, make a gruesome discovery: the crew has been killed. The entire region is in turmoil. There are only two survivors who manage to reach land: Thomas and his mother, a German princess.

On the island of Hulm, they find asylum, and the boy soon befriends Hakim, the son of the Sultan. Hakim dreams of a peaceful world, and when he becomes Sultan himself, he decides to build the House of Wisdom to spark a dialogue between East and West. The library of this house is to house only the best and most exciting books of world literature. Thomas, who has long been called Prince Tuma, studies German literature in Berlin. When he returns, he brings Goethe's works with him. From then on, he must report to a large commission, and each night the commission decides whether he may give another lecture.

Over nine nights, the young prince presents Goethe's works: he tells of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Reineke Fuchs, Werther and his unhappy love, the Erlking, and the Sorcerer's Apprentice. During these nine nights, Prince Tuma captivates not only the commission but also the reader.