Lover’s Meeting London 1813. It is Christmas and, on stage, four people act out a timeless drama known as the Harlequinade. Columbine is played by Jannie Sorrel, a beautiful young dancer who all too soon must learn the rapture of first love and the pain of disillusionment. Ivor Bryn has come a long way from his Welsh valley, burning with ambition to become master of his craft. As Harlequin he has the power to enchant, but behind his mask he finds the disenchantment of passion. Sara Dell is an ageing actress who sheds her loneliness in the part of the Fairy Queen – and in doing comes to know the tragic actor, Raymond Otway.

As the action shifts from the great London theatres to the primitive barn stages of the provinces and to a nobleman’s country house, the lives of these players interweave in a maze of magic, passion, laughter and tears.