Jane wishes she were more like her friend Pyg the sculptor until Pyg's statue of a beautiful goddess comes to life and teaches them both to be careful what they wish for. Based on the Greek myth of Pygmalion.

While attending a conference in Istanbul, Dr. Alithea Binnie happens to encounter a djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. This presents two problems: first, she doubts that he's real, and second, because she's a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually, she's beguiled and makes a wish that surprises...

Sent to stay with a mysterious aunt in her rambling country home while her father battles alcoholism, Georgia befriends a secretive girl before discovering a magical lake that sends them on wondrous adventures.