Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. It was a land of centaurs and dragons and basilisks. For Bink of North Village, however, Xanth was no fairy tale. He alone had no magic. And unless he got some and fast! he would be exiled. Forever! But the Good Magician Humfrey was convinced that Bink did indeed have magic. In fact, both Beauregard the genie and the magic wall chart insisted that Bink had Magic. Magic as powerful as any possessed by the King or by Good Magician Humfrey or even by the Evil Magician Trent. Be that as it may, no one could fathom the nature of Bink's very special magic. Bink was in despair. This was even worse than having no magic at all... and he would still be exiled!

Summary:

Bink of North Village has a problem- he is 25 and has not yet discovered his magical talent, and he dreads the impending exile from his beloved Xanth. Determined to remain in the country of his birth, Bink risks a journey to the Good Magician Humfrey, whose talent is information, to find out if he does indeed have magic.

It's a long and dangerous voyage, but Bink finds help along the way: from the beautiful but simple Wynne; from a woman named Iris, whose specialty is illusion; and from Crombie, a wounded soldier who has the ability to sense danger. But when Bink finally gains admittance to Humfrey's castle, the magician is confounded to realize he cannot discover the nature of Bink's gift.

Yet Humfrey is convinced that Bink does have magic- that indeed it is as powerful as any possessed by the King, by the Good Magician himself, even by the forces of evil that threaten the peace of his becharmed homeland...