The young boy Sparrowhawk realizes his own uncommon powers while defending his village against an enemy horde. He becomes an apprentice to Gont Island's Master Wizard; but impatience to learn faster takes him far from home to Roke Island, where he enters the School at Roke - the school for Wizards famous throughout Earthsea. As a student of magic, Sparrowhawk exceeds his years in accomplishment. Pride and jealousy drive the boy to try certain dangerous powers too soon, and a terrible evil is let loose in the land. Thus begins the chase and the hunt between young wizard and shadow-creature across the stone-peaked islands and the farthest unknown waters of Earthsea.

This is an adventure story, a Quest, a tale of a proud, incautious boy who meddles too early with the Dark. It is a pure fantasy telling about a real thing: a boy coming into his power and his manhood...coming of age.