The Dark Lord Sauron seeks to enslave the free peoples of the mythical realm of Middle-earth by recovering a mighty ring of power he forged in the fires beneath Mount Doom.
After many generations, the ruling ring, cut from Sauron's hand by the human hero Isildur, has fallen by chance into the keeping of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm). Guided by the wizard Gandalf and assisted by companions representing the free races of elves, dwarves, men, and hobbits, Bilbo's heir, Frodo, embarks on a perilous quest to destroy the ring before Sauron's minions can recapture it.
