Despite a 30 year publishing gap, ''The Pinhoe Egg'' picks ups where [[Charmed Life (The Chrestomanci) by Diana Wynne Jones|Charmed Life]] left and it does it with remarkable continuity. Cat Chant, a fledgling nine-life enchanter is living in the Chrestomanci castle with the Chrestomanci family and is continuing to study, explore and recognise the nature of his own magic. In this, he gets help not only from his formal tutors and other members of the magical family and the Castle staff, but also from several unusual and unexpected characters and creatures including an untameable horse, an old unicorn and a creature that hatches from the large purple egg of the title (and no, it's not a dragon).