Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and tried three times to kill him when he was still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and the magical powers of the black dog Musti, who guards him. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruelest of fates. The novella is followed by essays and commentaries on Tolkien's work, and on the source material.

Tolkien's Story is based on the Kullervo cycle in the Karelian and Finnish epic poem Kalevala. It first appeared in 2010 in Tolkien Studies (Volume VII / edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D.C. Drout, Verlyn Flieger; Morgantown, W. Va. : West Virginia University Press) and was republished in August 2015 by HarperCollins (London).

The story of Kullervo -- List of names -- Draft plot synopses: Notes and commentary -- Introduction to the essays -- On "The Kalevala" or Land of heroes: Notes and commentary -- The Kalevala: Notes and commentary -- Tolkien, Kalevala, and "The story of Kullervo" / Verlyn Flieger.