Chapter 2. Centaur
If Bink does not discover what his magic Talent is before he turns 25, he will be banished, so he is journeying to see the Good Magician Humfrey. Bink gets in a fight with a centaur named Chester, and is rescued by Cherie Centaur, who helps him on his way to the magician.
Chapter 3. Chasm
In exchange for a place to spend the night, Bink serves in a hearing and meets Wynne, a gorgeous idiot who shows him where to cross a giant chasm. Oddly, Bink has never heard about this obstruction, despite the fact that it cuts the entire length of the land. Hunted by the Gap Dragon, Bink lets a shade possess him in order to escape. The shade’s magic talent (when he was alive) was flying, so they flew to safety (but not to side of the chasm Bink needed, of course.)
Chapter 4. Illusion
Bink tries to go around the Chasm, and is attacked by a sea monster. “Rescued” by the Sorceress Iris (whose Talent is Illusion), she tries to seduce him to be her husband, so she can make him a puppet King and rule through him. (In Xanth, only a King may rule.) Bink refuses and, after a brief struggle, continues on his way.
Chapter 5. Spring
Bink finds a wounded soldier, Crombie, and heals him with water from the Spring of Life, which gives it's water under the condition that the drinker never goes against it's interests. Crombie uses his magic (the ability to point like a compass to whatever he wishes) to find “the greatest threat to Bink’s welfare” and they find Dee, an average girl. Crombie, a woman hater, drives her off. He serves as Bink’s bodyguard all the way to the Magician’s castle.
Chapter 6. Magician
Bink defeats the tests to get into the castle and asks Humfrey his question. Bink has very powerful magic—but no one can figure out what it is! Humfrey lets him go without charge. (Normal price is a year of service.)
Chapter 7. Exile
Bink returns to the North Village and stands trial. Despite the note from Humfrey, he is exiled. Bink travels to the Shield and that guards Xanth’s borders and enters Mundania.
Chapter 8. Trent
Bink is ambushed and brought to the Evil Magician Trent, who was exiled 20 years ago. Trent tries to get Bink to tell him where the Shield Stone is located, so he can destroy it and invade Xanth. Bink refuses, but Fanchan, an ugly, smart woman (apparently also exiled,) is captured and doesn’t care if Xanth is overrun.
Chapter 9. Transformer
Locked in a pit, Fanchan and Bink get to know each other. Trent proves his power by taking them to the edge of the Shield, where there is still magic, and transforms them into Basilisks. Back in the pit (in normal forms) Fanchan plans their escape.
Chapter 10. Chase
They escape and steal the boat that carries the elixir that would nullify the Shield Stone. The current carries them toward the Shield, so to save their lives they get in a rowboat and ram it on a rock. Trent swims up and tries to reason with them, but they all get pulled down in a whirlpool.
Chapter 11. Wilderness
The whirlpool pulls them under the Shield and into Xanth, where they are pulled into a cave by a kraken weed, which is neutralized by the elixir. Alive, they swim out of the cave, past mermaids and sea monster to the shore, where they accidentally are trapped by various plant life. Only by cooperating to they escape.
Chapter 12. Chameleon
As they travel through the forest they realize that they are being herded toward a rotted, old castle. It’s Castle Roogna, and it wont let them go. Bink notices that Fanchan is beginning to look more and more like Dee—she is Chameleon, whose magic power is to change from ugly/smart, to average, to beautiful/stupid throughout her female cycle.
Chapter 13. Rationale
As they get to know the castle ghosts, Chameleon stumbles upon a cherry-bomb tree. Bink plants the bombs around Roogna to force the magical castle to let him go. He tells Trent goodbye, but Trent reveals something he discovered as he studied in Roogna’s library. Xanth’s humanity is evolving away; it needs fresh human stock. Trent agrees to help him leave if he will spare Roogna.
Chapter 14. Wiggle
Trent gets Roogna to let them leave, on the promise that he will return as king. They ride on Bink, who Trent has transformed into a Sphinx, until they find a bunch of animals fighting a Wiggle swarm—dangerous worms that can tunnel through anything, even air, and living creatures are no exception. The opposition is lead by Herman the Hermit, a magic-using centaur (the magic Talent laws are exactly the opposite for Centaurs.) Trent transforms Bink into a Salamander, and they burn up the swarm.
Chapter 15. Duel
Sorceress Iris appears, and she and Trent hit it off immediately, plotting to take over the throne together. Bink refuses to let them and they begin a dual to the death, but an amazing number of coincidences prevent Trent from hurting Bink. They finally realize what Bink’s mysterious talent is: he can’t be harmed by magic! So Trent decides to take him out the old-fashioned way, with a sword, but Chameleon takes the blow to save him. Trent finds himself unable to make himself kill the two of them. Bink is transformed and goes for help to save the dying Chameleon.
Chapter 16. King
With Iris trying to stop him, Bink the phoenix flies to Humfrey, who then flies them to the North Village to get more people. Learning that the senile king has died, they are conjured to Trent, who is put on trial after they heal Chameleon. He is found guilty, and his punishment is to do two things: Marry, and become King! Good Magician Trent is finally King, Sorceress Iris is finally Queen, Bink introduces Crombie to Sabrina, and Trent declares Bink the Official Researcher of Xanth. Chameleon agrees to marry Bink; she had been searching for a way to make herself normal, but Bink loved her for being such a variety. They didn’t need a spell for Chameleon after all.