Describes the history of a journey undertaken by a secretive 'League'. This novel reveals the existence of a fantastical, alluring and deeply intimate world in which a journey can cross not only the boundaries of time and space but even those of fact and fiction, in which one's travelling companion might just as easily be Don Quixote as Paul Klee.

Narcissus is a teacher at Mariabronn, a monastery in medieval Germany, and Goldmund is his favourite pupil. While Narcissus remains detached from the world in prayer and meditation, Goldmund runs away from the monastery in pursuit of love. Then, he lives a picaresque wanderer's life, his amatory adventures resulting in pain as well as ecstasy.