Mallory, the main character of The Wizard in the Tree, is a goodhearted and forgiving person who strives to help Arbican, a wizard she finds in a tree trunk: Even as she watched, the crown of a balding head, wreathed by long strands of grizzled hair, thrust up from the trunk; then a lean, wrinkled face, its beard tangled in splinters. Cobwebs trailed from its nose and a clump of mushrooms sprouted from one ear. The bright eyes blinked furiously.

The magical figure of Arbican introduces the theme of the novel: people can make their own magic without having magical powers. The world's magical beings long ago sailed off to Vale Innis, ending magic in the human world; since then, many false notions about magic have become part of human folklore. Mallory asks for three wishes and is told that she cannot have any...