In a richly woven post-holocaust world where magic is normally a woman's monopoly and a man who can use it is a menace, Rand al'Thor, a sheepherder, discovered that he could "channel"; he and his companions have gone on to set their world aflame. Here, Rand is engaged in a fight for control of the weather and of the growing number of men and women who have turned out to be magic-wielders. The narrative employs elements of realism rare in high fantasy, including the sense that innocent bystanders are being mauled in an epic joust of magical giants.