While passing over the palace of a king, the Spirit of Dreams discovers a troubled state of affairs. The people are poor and terrorized, the king is a lecherous tyrant, and love and happiness are nowhere to be found. So he picks out several people--including the king and his unhappy daughter, who is in love with a poor peasant boy that the king has thrown in prison--and casts a "dream rose" upon them. Each has a dream that gives them a different perspective on their own situation and a possible solution to them.
