Best friends Quentin and Julia are mysteriously recruited to take an entrance exam to Brakebills University, a secret institution for magical pedagogy.

Quentin is distraught as he faces expulsion for his involvement in an otherworldly attack on Brakebills, while Julia delves deeper into underground magic and takes a test to prove herself to the Hedge Witches.

Quentin and Julia have an unexpected - and volatile - reunion. Penny is overwhelmed by the power of his own psychic abilities and Alice is determined to find out what happened to her missing brother - at any cost.

Quentin wakes up in a mental hospital and must set his panic aside to seek the help of the one person he least trusts. Julia is hurt after her fallout with Quentin and commits to learning more powerful spells with the Hedge Witches.

Although everyone should be training for the upcoming Welter's Tournament, the students are each dealing with a personal distraction that keeps them from staying focused.

The First Years are thrust into the old Brakebills tradition of The Trials, a midterm-slash-hazing ritual in which failing means flunking out for good. Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, Julia meets a fellow blacklisted Hedge Witch.