A Game of Thrones

The seasons were out of balance due to a supernatural incident that occurred long ago in a bygone era. There's unrest developing in a place where summers may last decades and winters a lifetime. The winter is coming again, and evil forces are gathering beyond the kingdom's defenses in the icy wastes to the north of Winterfell. In the south, the king's authority is eroding as his opponents emerge from the throne's shadow and his most loyal advisor dies under suspicious circumstances. The Starks of Winterfell, a family as cruel and unforgiving as the icy region they were born to, are at the heart of the battle. Now, Lord Eddard Stark is unwillingly called upon to take on the role of the king's new Hand—an appointment that might split the realm in two.

A Game of Thrones is a story of lords and women, warriors and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a period of dark omens. It sweeps from a harsh realm of ice to a summery kingdom of epicurean wealth. Here, a child is lost in the twilight between life and death, a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to regain his throne, a determined woman sets out on a perilous journey to protect everything she holds dear, and an enigmatic band of warriors brandish swords made of no human metal. The destiny of the Starks is dangerously in jeopardy as both sides try to win the deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones, amid schemes and counterplots, tragedy and treachery, triumph and fear, friends and foes.