Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
=== In the Seven Kingdoms ===
After the death of Lord Jon Arryn, King Robert Baratheon recruits his childhood friend Eddard "Ned" Stark, the lord of the northern castle of Winterfell, to replace Arryn as Hand of the King and betroths his son Joffrey to Ned's daughter Sansa. Shortly thereafter, Ned's son Bran discovers Robert's wife, Queen Cersei Lannister, having sex with her twin brother, Jaime. Jaime throws Bran from a tower, leaving Bran comatose and paralyzed.
Ned brings his daughters Sansa and Arya to the capital city, King's Landing, and finds that Robert is an ineffective king whose only interests are hunting, drinking, and womanizing.
At Winterfell, an assassin fails to kill Bran while he is unconscious, and Ned's wife, Catelyn, travels to King's Landing to bring word to Ned. Catelyn's childhood friend, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, implicates Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of Cersei and Jaime, in the assassination attempt. On the road home, Catelyn encounters Tyrion and arrests him for the attempt on Bran's life. In retaliation for Tyrion's abduction, his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, sends soldiers to raid the Riverlands, Catelyn's home region. Tyrion regains his freedom by demanding a trial and recruiting a mercenary named Bronn to defend him in trial by combat.
Ned investigates Jon Arryn's death and discovers that the children thought to be Robert's heirs are in fact Cersei's children by Jaime; he infers that Jon Arryn was killed to conceal this information. Before Ned can act, Cersei arranges Robert's death and installs Joffrey on the throne. Ned enlists Littlefinger's help to take Cersei and Joffrey into custody. Littlefinger betrays him and Ned is arrested. Arya escapes, but Cersei and Joffrey take Sansa as a hostage.
Ned's eldest son, Robb, marches his army south in response to his father's arrest. To secure a strategically necessary bridge crossing, Catelyn negotiates a marital alliance between Robb and the notoriously unreliable House Frey. Robb defeats a Lannister army in the Riverlands, capturing Jaime. Tywin sends Tyrion back to King's Landing to act as Joffrey's Hand of the King. Joffrey has Ned executed and Robb's followers declare independence from the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming Robb the "King in the North".
On the Wall
The prologue of the novel introduces the Wall: a huge magical wall of ice at the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. The Wall is defended by the Night's Watch, a great order of warriors who serve for life to defend the realm from the Others, an ancient and hostile inhuman race, and human "wildlings" who live north of the Wall.
Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son, is inspired by his uncle Benjen to join the Night's Watch. He becomes disillusioned when he discovers that its recruits are mostly convicts. Jon unites his fellow recruits against their harsh instructor and protects the cowardly but good-natured and intelligent Samwell Tarly. Jon is appointed steward to the leader of the Watch, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Benjen fails to return from an expedition north of the Wall; when the bodies of two men from his party are recovered, they re-animate as undead wights before being dispatched by Jon.
When word of Ned's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to join Robb against the Lannisters, but is persuaded to remain loyal to the Watch. Mormont declares his intention to march north to find Benjen, and to investigate rumors of a "King-beyond-the-Wall" uniting the wildlings.
Across the Narrow Sea
Across the eastern sea, in Essos, live the exiled children of the dead and deposed Mad King Aerys of the Seven Kingdoms: Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen.
Viserys betroths Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki people, in exchange for the use of Drogo's army to reclaim the throne. Daenerys receives three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding present from a wealthy merchant. Jorah Mormont, a knight exiled from Westeros and Jeor's son, joins Viserys as an adviser. Initially terrified of her new husband and his people, Daenerys eventually embraces her role as Drogo's queen. Drogo, however, shows little interest in conquering Westeros. When Viserys publicly threatens Daenerys and her unborn child, Drogo executes him by pouring molten gold on his head.
An assassin attempts to poison Daenerys, convincing Drogo to conquer Westeros. While sacking villages to fund the invasion, Drogo is badly wounded, and Daenerys commands the captive folk healer Mirri Maz Duur to save him. The healer, angered by the Dothraki raids against her people, sacrifices Daenerys's unborn child to power the spell to save Drogo's life, which restores Drogo's physical health but leaves him in a persistent vegetative state.
With Drogo incapacitated, much of his army disperses. Daenerys smothers Drogo with a pillow and has Mirri tied to Drogo's funeral pyre. She places her three dragon eggs on the pyre and enters it herself. When the fire burns out, she emerges unharmed, with three newly hatched dragons.
After the death of Lord Jon Arryn, King Robert Baratheon recruits his childhood friend Eddard "Ned" Stark, the lord of the northern castle of Winterfell, to replace Arryn as Hand of the King and betroths his son Joffrey to Ned's daughter Sansa. Shortly thereafter, Ned's son Bran discovers Robert's wife, Queen Cersei Lannister, having sex with her twin brother, Jaime. Jaime throws Bran from a tower, leaving Bran comatose and paralyzed.
Ned brings his daughters Sansa and Arya to the capital city, King's Landing, and finds that Robert is an ineffective king whose only interests are hunting, drinking, and womanizing.
At Winterfell, an assassin fails to kill Bran while he is unconscious, and Ned's wife, Catelyn, travels to King's Landing to bring word to Ned. Catelyn's childhood friend, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, implicates Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of Cersei and Jaime, in the assassination attempt. On the road home, Catelyn encounters Tyrion and arrests him for the attempt on Bran's life. In retaliation for Tyrion's abduction, his father, Lord Tywin Lannister, sends soldiers to raid the Riverlands, Catelyn's home region. Tyrion regains his freedom by demanding a trial and recruiting a mercenary named Bronn to defend him in trial by combat.
Ned investigates Jon Arryn's death and discovers that the children thought to be Robert's heirs are in fact Cersei's children by Jaime; he infers that Jon Arryn was killed to conceal this information. Before Ned can act, Cersei arranges Robert's death and installs Joffrey on the throne. Ned enlists Littlefinger's help to take Cersei and Joffrey into custody. Littlefinger betrays him and Ned is arrested. Arya escapes, but Cersei and Joffrey take Sansa as a hostage.
Ned's eldest son, Robb, marches his army south in response to his father's arrest. To secure a strategically necessary bridge crossing, Catelyn negotiates a marital alliance between Robb and the notoriously unreliable House Frey. Robb defeats a Lannister army in the Riverlands, capturing Jaime. Tywin sends Tyrion back to King's Landing to act as Joffrey's Hand of the King. Joffrey has Ned executed and Robb's followers declare independence from the Seven Kingdoms, proclaiming Robb the "King in the North".
On the Wall
The prologue of the novel introduces the Wall: a huge magical wall of ice at the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms. The Wall is defended by the Night's Watch, a great order of warriors who serve for life to defend the realm from the Others, an ancient and hostile inhuman race, and human "wildlings" who live north of the Wall.
Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son, is inspired by his uncle Benjen to join the Night's Watch. He becomes disillusioned when he discovers that its recruits are mostly convicts. Jon unites his fellow recruits against their harsh instructor and protects the cowardly but good-natured and intelligent Samwell Tarly. Jon is appointed steward to the leader of the Watch, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Benjen fails to return from an expedition north of the Wall; when the bodies of two men from his party are recovered, they re-animate as undead wights before being dispatched by Jon.
When word of Ned's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to join Robb against the Lannisters, but is persuaded to remain loyal to the Watch. Mormont declares his intention to march north to find Benjen, and to investigate rumors of a "King-beyond-the-Wall" uniting the wildlings.
Across the Narrow Sea
Across the eastern sea, in Essos, live the exiled children of the dead and deposed Mad King Aerys of the Seven Kingdoms: Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen.
Viserys betroths Daenerys to Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki people, in exchange for the use of Drogo's army to reclaim the throne. Daenerys receives three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding present from a wealthy merchant. Jorah Mormont, a knight exiled from Westeros and Jeor's son, joins Viserys as an adviser. Initially terrified of her new husband and his people, Daenerys eventually embraces her role as Drogo's queen. Drogo, however, shows little interest in conquering Westeros. When Viserys publicly threatens Daenerys and her unborn child, Drogo executes him by pouring molten gold on his head.
An assassin attempts to poison Daenerys, convincing Drogo to conquer Westeros. While sacking villages to fund the invasion, Drogo is badly wounded, and Daenerys commands the captive folk healer Mirri Maz Duur to save him. The healer, angered by the Dothraki raids against her people, sacrifices Daenerys's unborn child to power the spell to save Drogo's life, which restores Drogo's physical health but leaves him in a persistent vegetative state.
With Drogo incapacitated, much of his army disperses. Daenerys smothers Drogo with a pillow and has Mirri tied to Drogo's funeral pyre. She places her three dragon eggs on the pyre and enters it herself. When the fire burns out, she emerges unharmed, with three newly hatched dragons.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, A Game of Thrones. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license