The Bards of Bone Plain combines ancient magic, music and archaeology into a slow, meandering story about the search for magic that turns out to have been there the entire time. The primary storyline involves a search for a place that may only exist in metaphor and legend, a princess who is more interested in archaeology digs than in parties, and an archaeologist and his rocky relationship with his son. The secondary storyline is about Nairn, a legendary bard who failed some kind of mystical test, and is cursed with the loss of his music and immortality.