"Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is among the most popular, acclaimed and controversial of writers in English. His books have sold in great numbers, and he remains the youngest writer to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Many associate Kipling with poems such as 'If-', his novel Kim, his pioneering use of the short story form and such works for children as the Just So Stories. For others, though, Kipling is the very symbol of the British Empire...

Many people know of the death of Rudyard Kipling's son John, but few know of the earlier death of his much-loved daughter Josephine. This film reveals the true story behind both of these deaths, creating an evocation of a man who had remarkable gifts and had to bear great personal tragedy. Combining touching dramatizations of three of Kipling's most important works with distinguished contributions from his leading biographers.

A ten-year-old actress tells about her association with the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, the oldest children's theater in the United States, and her performance in their staging of Kipling's "Just So Stories."