 Against all odds he becomes a hero when he recruits aid for the city-state of Ir after it discounts intelligence of an imminent invasion by the cannibal Paaluans.Returning to his home plane early and with extra iron, he resolves never again to leave the comforts of the Twelfth Plane — until he realizes how dull it is compared with the picturesque insanity of the human realm...

By internal chronology, "The Fallible Fiend" is the second story in the Novarian series, coming after the short story "The Emperor's Fan", which is set centuries before the others, and prior to the "Reluctant King" trilogy.