Frodo and his companions have been beset by danger during the quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord, Gandalf has been lost in the Mines of Moria, and now they journey down the great River Anduin toward the Cracks of Doom.

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-Earth still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young...