A Feast for Crows

The War of the Five Kings is slowly coming to an end. The secessionist kings Robb Stark and Balon Greyjoy are dead. One claimant to the throne, Stannis Baratheon, has gone to fight off invading wildling tribes at the northern Wall, where Robb's half-brother, Jon Snow, has become the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, the order responsible for guarding the Wall. The eight-year-old King Tommen Baratheon now rules in King's Landing under the regency of his mother, Cersei Lannister. The warrior woman Brienne of Tarth has been sent by Cersei's brother (and lover) Jaime Lannister on a mission to find Robb's sister Sansa Stark. Sansa is hiding in the Vale of Arryn, protected by her mother's childhood friend Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, who has murdered his wife (and her aunt), Lysa Arryn, and named himself Protector of the Vale and guardian of Lysa's son, the eight-year-old Lord Robert Arryn.

Prologue

Pate is a young apprentice at the Citadel in Oldtown, training to become a member of the ancient order of scholar-healers known as maesters. At a stranger's request, he has stolen an important key to a depository of books and records. After turning over the stolen key and receiving the reward of a gold coin, he bites the coin and dies abruptly from poisoning.

King's Landing

Following the death of Tywin Lannister, the late Hand of the King, Queen Cersei's regency is marked by rampant cronyism, and her councils are staffed with incompetent officials and unreliable sycophants. She disregards advice from her uncle Kevan Lannister and her brother Jaime, alienating them both. Making matters worse is Cersei's increasing distrust of the powerful House Tyrell, whose alliance is essential to the stability of the Lannister regime—particularly King Tommen's fiancée, Margaery, whom Cersei believes to be the subject of a prophecy about a "younger, more beautiful queen" who will take away all that Cersei holds dear.
Her reckless management raises the kingdom's debts to the Iron Bank of Braavos and the Faith of the Seven. When Cersei defaults the debt owed to the Iron Bank, the Bank's financial retaliation nearly cripples the economy of Westeros. To settle the crown's debts to the Faith, Cersei permits the restoration of its military order, the Faith Militant, ignoring the danger of a re-armed Faith. A scheme to falsely have the Faith put Margaery on trial for adultery backfires when the religious leadership imprisons Cersei herself on similar—and correct—charges.

Riverlands

Cersei dispatches Jaime to the Riverlands to put down the remnants of the late Robb Stark's rebellion. He unsuccessfully negotiates with Robb's great-uncle Brynden "the Blackfish" Tully to surrender the castle of Riverrun in exchange for his nephew Edmure's life, but he then convinces Edmure to surrender to save the lives of his men and his unborn child. Although the siege ends bloodlessly, Brynden escapes. Jaime then receives word that Cersei, who has been arrested by the Faith, wants him to defend her in a trial by combat, but Jaime burns her letter and abandons her to her fate.
Brienne's quest takes her across the Riverlands, where she witnesses the devastation of war. She acquires Podrick Payne, the former squire of Jaime's brother Tyrion, and Ser Hyle Hunt, a knight who had once mocked her ugliness, as traveling companions. She learns that Sansa's sister, Arya Stark, has actually survived and escaped King's Landing, and the feared warrior Sandor "the Hound" Clegane is reportedly dead, but someone wearing his helmet has massacred the town of Saltpans. She later kills the culprit, Rorge, but is gravely injured and mutilated by his companion, Biter. Eventually, she is captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners, which was once devoted to protecting the smallfolk of the Riverlands but is now commanded by the magically resurrected Catelyn Stark, Sansa's mother. The undead and vengeful Catelyn, who has taken the name Lady Stoneheart, sentences Brienne to death for consorting with the Lannisters but offers to spare her and her companions if she agrees to kill Jaime.

The Vale

In the remote castle of the Eyrie, Sansa poses as Littlefinger's illegitimate daughter Alayne Stone, befriending the young Lord Robert Arryn, managing the household, and receiving informal training in politics. During this time, Littlefinger appears to be carefully manipulating Robert's bannermen to secure his status as Lord Protector of the Vale. He eventually reveals that he plans to betroth Sansa to Harrold Hardyng, the next heir in line to the Vale; when the sickly Robert dies, Littlefinger intends to reveal Sansa's identity and claim her family stronghold of Winterfell in her name.

Iron Islands

On the Iron Islands, the late Balon Greyjoy's eldest surviving brother, Euron, returns from exile to claim the throne. To prevent this, his younger brother Aeron, a priest, calls a Kingsmoot to choose the successor. Although Euron's claim is challenged by his other younger brother Victarion and Balon's daughter, Asha, Euron is ultimately chosen as king for his vow to conquer Westeros and control Daenerys Targaryen's dragons with an enchanted horn he has. Under Euron's leadership, the Iron Fleet attacks the Reach, threatening House Tyrell's seat at Highgarden. Euron sends Victarion east to propose marriage to Daenerys on his behalf—to thus gain a claim to the Iron Throne—but Victarion secretly decides to woo her for himself instead.

Dorne

In the southern region of Dorne, Prince Doran Martell is confronted by three of the Sand Snakes—his brother Oberyn's bastard daughters—who want vengeance for the death of their father. Because they incite the commonfolk, Doran has his guard captain, Areo Hotah, arrest and imprison them in the palace.
A bold attempt by Doran's daughter Arianne to create a war of succession by crowning Tommen's sister, Myrcella Baratheon, as queen of Westeros is thwarted. In the confusion, one of Arianne's co-conspirators, Ser Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne, attempts to kill Myrcella and disfigures her face. Myrcella's guardian, Ser Arys Oakheart, is killed by Areo Hotah. This strains Dorne's new alliance with the Iron Throne. Doran later reveals to his daughter that he has a much grander plan to bring down the Lannisters, and her brother Quentyn has gone east to bring back "Fire and Blood" through an alliance with Daenerys.

Braavos

Arriving in the foreign city of Braavos, Arya Stark finds her way to the cult of face-changing assassins known as the Faceless Men. Accepted as a novice, Arya is taught to abandon her previous identity, but her true identity asserts itself in the form of wolf dreams.
Meanwhile, the Night's Watch lord commander Jon Snow has ordered Samwell Tarly to sail to the Citadel in Oldtown to train as a maester and warn the Seven Kingdoms about the return of the legendary hostile beings known as the Others. Sam is accompanied by the elderly Maester Aemon, the wildling girl Gilly, Gilly's newborn baby, and another Night's Watch member, Dareon. After the voyage begins, Sam realizes the child is actually the son of the wildling leader Mance Rayder, swapped with Gilly's real son. The party becomes temporarily stranded in Braavos when Aemon becomes sick, and Daeron absconds with their money. After learning that Daenerys possesses dragons, Aemon concludes that she is destined to fulfill a prophecy and that he needs to assist her. Shortly after the party finally leaves Braavos, Aemon dies at the age of 102. After Sam's party leaves, Arya chances upon Daeron and murders him for deserting the Night's Watch. As punishment for the unauthorized killing, the Faceless Men then feed her a potion that causes blindness.

Oldtown

At the end of the novel, Sam arrives at the Citadel and is introduced to Archmaester Marwyn. After learning about Aemon's death and the dragon prophecy about Daenerys, Marwyn leaves to find Daenerys. Before he leaves, he reveals to Sam that there is a maester conspiracy to suppress magic and that the Citadel orchestrated the downfall of the dragons centuries ago. He warns him not to talk about prophecy or dragons because the maesters will probably poison him. Sam also meets an acolyte who looks like and is named Pate.