Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit resident of the medieval Middle-earth, discovers that a ring bequeathed to him by his Uncle Bilbo is in fact the "One Ring," a device that will allow its master to manipulate dark powers and enslave the world. Frodo is charged by the wizard Gandalf to return the ring to Mount Doom, the evil site where it was forged millennia ago and the only place where it can be destroyed.