Alder, a minor village sorcerer who is adept at mending, has been tormented by dreams since the death of his beloved wife Lily.

Every time he falls asleep, he is brought to the wall of stones, the border between the world of the living and the Dry Land of the dead.

Alder finds Ged, who is alone at the time, as his Kargish wife Tenar and adopted daughter Tehanu have been summoned to Havnor to counsel King Lebannen.

The dragon Orm Irian arrives shortly after, taking human form of a young woman to address the king and his council.

Once the wall is sufficiently breached, the imprisoned dead rush free to return to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, and Alder is reunited with his wife Lily and dies.

After the balance of the world is restored, the king marries the Kargish princess, whom he has come to love and admire, and Tenar returns to Gont and to Ged.

The Other Wind continues the stories of Earthsea characters Lebannen, Tenar, Tehanu, and, in a minor role, Ged, from the previous books.

Nevertheless, she reluctantly agrees to accompany the King on a mission to meet and parley with the dragons, in part because she can innately understand their speech.

In addition to Tehanu's personal reconciliation with her own nature, the sorcerer Alder is reconciled with his dead wife, Lebannen with his future bride, and through that marriage, a lasting peace with Kargad is forged.