diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/mod.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/mod.rs
index 8a31ff0c..ed95be25 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/mod.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/mod.rs
@@ -334,6 +334,10 @@ fn handle_tools_list(id: Option<Value>) -> JsonRpcResponse {
                                 "type": "string",
                                 "description": "Optional user story text (As a..., I want..., so that...)"
                             },
+                            "description": {
+                                "type": "string",
+                                "description": "Optional description / background context for the story"
+                            },
                             "acceptance_criteria": {
                                 "type": "array",
                                 "items": { "type": "string" },
diff --git a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools.rs b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools.rs
index 2a16ed45..f817be38 100644
--- a/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/mcp/story_tools.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ pub(super) fn tool_create_story(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
         .and_then(|v| v.as_str())
         .ok_or("Missing required argument: name")?;
     let user_story = args.get("user_story").and_then(|v| v.as_str());
+    let description = args.get("description").and_then(|v| v.as_str());
     let acceptance_criteria: Option<Vec<String>> = args
         .get("acceptance_criteria")
         .and_then(|v| serde_json::from_value(v.clone()).ok());
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ pub(super) fn tool_create_story(args: &Value, ctx: &AppContext) -> Result<String
         &root,
         name,
         user_story,
+        description,
         acceptance_criteria.as_deref(),
         depends_on.as_deref(),
         commit,
@@ -798,6 +800,34 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(result.unwrap_err().contains("Missing required argument"));
     }
 
+    // Regression test for bug 509: description was silently dropped.
+    #[test]
+    fn tool_create_story_description_is_written_to_file() {
+        let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
+        let ctx = test_ctx(tmp.path());
+
+        let result = tool_create_story(
+            &json!({
+                "name": "Story With Description",
+                "description": "This is the background context."
+            }),
+            &ctx,
+        )
+        .unwrap();
+        assert!(result.contains("Created story:"));
+
+        let story_id = result.trim_start_matches("Created story: ").trim().to_string();
+        let content = crate::db::read_content(&story_id).expect("story content should exist");
+        assert!(
+            content.contains("## Description"),
+            "Description section missing from story: {content}"
+        );
+        assert!(
+            content.contains("This is the background context."),
+            "Description text missing from story: {content}"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn tool_get_pipeline_status_returns_structured_response() {
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
diff --git a/server/src/http/workflow/story_ops.rs b/server/src/http/workflow/story_ops.rs
index 2e093c39..e99769d7 100644
--- a/server/src/http/workflow/story_ops.rs
+++ b/server/src/http/workflow/story_ops.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ pub fn create_story_file(
     root: &std::path::Path,
     name: &str,
     user_story: Option<&str>,
+    description: Option<&str>,
     acceptance_criteria: Option<&[String]>,
     depends_on: Option<&[u32]>,
     _commit: bool,
@@ -45,6 +46,13 @@ pub fn create_story_file(
     }
     content.push('\n');
 
+    if let Some(desc) = description {
+        content.push_str("## Description\n\n");
+        content.push_str(desc);
+        content.push('\n');
+        content.push('\n');
+    }
+
     content.push_str("## Acceptance Criteria\n\n");
     if let Some(criteria) = acceptance_criteria {
         for criterion in criteria {
@@ -350,7 +358,7 @@ mod tests {
     fn create_story_with_colon_in_name_produces_valid_yaml() {
         let tmp = tempfile::tempdir().unwrap();
         let name = "Server-owned agent completion: remove report_completion dependency";
-        let result = create_story_file(tmp.path(), name, None, None, None, false);
+        let result = create_story_file(tmp.path(), name, None, None, None, None, false);
         assert!(result.is_ok(), "create_story_file failed: {result:?}");
 
         let story_id = result.unwrap();
@@ -622,6 +630,7 @@ mod tests {
             "Dependent Story",
             None,
             None,
+            None,
             Some(&[489]),
             false,
         )