Ever since she fissioned from her seductive sister, D. Mentia, and shared a soul with her beloved husband, Veleno, the Demoness Metria has been waiting in vain for the stork to pay a visit.
At her wit's end, she journeys to the castle of the Good Magician Humfrey, hoping against hope that he will have the proper prescription for her predicament. But Humfrey's help has a heavy price. He commands Metria to seek out the Simurgh high atop Mount Parnassus and do the bidding of that venerable bird.
There in the Emerald Mountains, the Simurgh reveals an astonishing secret. Roxanne Roc, the feathered paragon of virtue who has been chosen to hatch the Simurgh's precious egg, stands accused (or rather, sits accused, since she has not left her nest in ages) of a violation of one of Xanth's most momentous rules.
To fulfill her service, Metria must gather together a clutch of Xanth's most rare and remarkable denizens from the far corners of that enchanted land to sit as judge and jury in Roxanne's trial.
Her quest takes Metria farther than she had ever dreamed - even to the fringes of Mundania itself. And along the way, she solves some of Xanth's most enigmatic riddles and learns some surprising truths about herself as well.