Gregory Maguire had his work cut out for him trying to span the 10 years between Elphaba's watery death in Wicked and the current day story. It's challenging for any author to cover so much backstory in so short a novel. I don't think Maguire could have done anything differently, except make the initial chapters and explanations a little more compressed to keep the action moving.

Liir, our mystery man and the alleged son of Elphaba, literally falls from the sky on a remote convent. The Maunt assigns Candle, a mute Quadling with a gift for music, the task of nursing the young man back to health.

Meanwhile, in Liir's head, we're seeing what's happened since Elphaba's death. We finally see the trip to Oz, his dealings with Glinda, etc.

Candle's and Liir's backstories alternate until Liir wakes up. This is at about page 250 and is the most interesting part of the book, in my honest opinion.

While reading Son of a Witch was quite a trudge, I will say that I would probably read another book in this series if it took place more in the present day.