Synopsis 

The medieval poet John Gower returns from the grave to tell the story of Pericles, Prince of Tyre.

The Riddle

King Antiochus offers his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who answers his riddle, with those who fail sentenced to death. Pericles hears the riddle and realises that it's a trick: if he solves the riddle, it will reveal the truth of the king's incestuous relationship with his daughter and result in death. He flees home to Tyre, but Antiochus sends an assassin after him.

A Wedding

Pericles travels to Tarsus to escape Antiochus’ revenge and to provide food for the city in famine. He then sets sail again and suffers a shipwreck. He is rescued by fishermen and finds out that King Simonides is holding a jousting tournament to honour his daughter Thaisa. Pericles wins the tournament and marries Thaisa.

The Storm

After finding out that Antiochus is dead, Pericles sets sail for Tyre to reclaim his throne with Thaisa, now pregnant with their first child. During a storm, Thaisa dies giving birth to a daughter and is buried at sea. Pericles lands at Tarsus and entrusts his baby daughter, christened Marina, to the care of Governor Cleon and his wife Dionyza. Thaisa's coffin lands at Ephesus, where she is revived by the doctor Cerimon. She enters the temple of Diana as a nun.

After finding out that Antiochus is dead, Pericles sets sail for Tyre to reclaim his throne with Thaisa, now pregnant with their child. During a storm, Thaisa dies in childbirth and is buried at sea. Pericles lands at Tarsus and entrusts his baby daughter, Marina, to the care of Governor Cleon and his wife Dionyza. Thaisa's coffin is cast ashore at Ephesus, where she is revived by the doctor Cerimon. Believing Pericles will never return, Thaisa enters the temple of Diana as a nun.

Abduction

Fourteen years pass and Marina has grown up to be a beautiful young woman. Her foster mother, Dionyza, is envious of the attention Marina gets at the expense of her own daughter and arranges Marina’s murder. As the murderer is about to kill her, she is abducted by pirates who sell her into a brothel in Mytilene. Her unwavering chastity proves bad for business and Lysimachus, the governor, visiting the brothel in disguise, is greatly impressed by her.

Stop reading now if you don't want to know how it ends.

Reunited

Pericles is told by Cleon and Dionyza that his daughter is dead. Devastated, he takes to sea again, no longer talking or eating, and arrives by chance at Mytilene. His ship is visited by Lysimachus who has Marina brought aboard the ship in an attempt to rouse Pericles from his sorrows. When their conversation reveals her to be his daughter, Pericles is overjoyed. In a dream, the goddess Diana directs him to make sacrifice at her temple in Ephesus and they set sail to accomplish this final act. At Ephesus, Pericles discovers Thaisa, alive, and the family is finally reunited.