The story starts with a re-telling of the kidnapping of Taborlin the Great by the Chandrian, and his eventual escape and survival as he called "The Name of the Wind" that the novel is named after, which saved him from falling off a cliff.
The plot then moves on to the present day, where we meet Kote and Bast, his assistant, in the isolated Newarre town. Kote is soon revealed as actually being the talented fighter and magician, Kvothe. Rumors have spread that Kvothe has killed a king and was the cause of all of the current raging war, although this is unconfirmed at this point.
Kvothe rescues a writer called Chronicler from a group of attacking scrael, and Chronicler asks Kvothe if it is possible for him to write the story of his life in a book. Kvothe says that it will take three whole days to recount his story.
After recounting his life story, Chronicler reveals to Bast that it was his plan to meet Kvothe and that it wasn't an unplanned accident that he was rescued from. Bast demands Chronicler to help Kvothe be far braver than he truly is, as he failed to use magic correctly the night before so that Kvothe can return to being a ruthless warrior and killer.
