Ged, originally named Dunny, is invited to a attend a school for wizards on the island of Roke. He performs exceedingly well and starts studying magic beyond his level. He ends up causing a tear in the fabric of the world and opening up the realm of the dead. He starts to be chased by a shadow creature.

After a plane crash, thirteen-year-old Brian spends fifty-four days in the Canadian wilderness, learning to survive with only the aid of a hatchet given him by his mother, and learning also to survive his parents' divorce.