Catelyn Stark secretly releases Jaime Lannister from captivity at Riverrun, hoping to negotiate a trade for her two daughters.

Tyrion Lannister demands lordship of Casterly Rock from his father Tywin as reward for saving King's Landing and is refused.

Ser Davos Seaworth is rescued from a small island after barely surviving the catastrophic Battle of Blackwater Bay.

Robb Stark introduces his secretly wed wife Jeyne Westerling to his mother Catelyn, shocking her with his broken vow.

Tywin Lannister forces Tyrion to marry Sansa Stark, giving the Lannisters a claim to the Stark domain of Winterfell.

Daenerys commands her dragons to incinerate the enslaver Kraznys and orders the Unsullied to kill their masters in Astapor.

Sansa Stark and Tyrion Lannister are wed in a reluctant ceremony at the Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing.

Edmure Tully agrees to marry Walder Frey's daughter Roslin to restore the Stark-Frey alliance and secure northern passage.

Walder Frey and Roose Bolton betray Robb Stark and Catelyn at the Red Wedding, slaughtering the assembled Stark forces.

Joffrey Baratheon collapses and dies from poison during his own wedding feast with Margaery Tyrell.

Sansa Stark is smuggled out of King's Landing aboard Petyr Baelish's ship in the chaos following Joffrey's death.

Prince Oberyn Martell champions Tyrion in trial by combat but is killed by the monstrous Ser Gregor Clegane.

Jaime Lannister frees his brother Tyrion from prison before his scheduled execution, with Varys's assistance.

Tyrion Lannister kills his father Tywin with a crossbow after finding him in the privy of the Tower of the Hand.

Jon Snow is elected the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch after Sam campaigns secretly on his behalf.

The novel opens in the wake of the Lannisters' victory at Blackwater Bay, with Davos Seaworth barely surviving and Tyrion Lannister stripped of power by his returning father Tywin. Tywin consolidates Lannister control through strategic marriages, forcing Tyrion to wed Sansa Stark and maneuvering to neutralize the last great threat to his rule: King Robb Stark. Across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen seizes the Unsullied army by betraying the slavers of Astapor and begins a campaign of liberation that will define her as a ruler. Back in Westeros, Robb's secret marriage has fractured his alliance with Walder Frey, and despite attempts to mend the breach through Edmure's wedding, Walder and Roose Bolton massacre the Starks at the infamous Red Wedding. The Lannisters appear to have won the war, but their celebration collapses when Joffrey is poisoned at his own wedding feast, triggering a trial that ends with Tyrion killing Tywin and fleeing into exile. Jon Snow's election as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch closes the book on one conflict while signaling that a far larger threat is still approaching.

The War of the Five Kings from victory to violent aftermath.

Three horn blasts at the Fist of the First Men signal an attack by the undead Others on the Night's Watch camp.

Jon Snow is brought before King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder and earns acceptance into the wildling army.

Bran Stark decides to journey north of the Wall to find the three-eyed crow and develop his supernatural warging abilities.

Davos Seaworth arrives at Dragonstone and resolves to assassinate the priestess Melisandre for her dangerous influence over Stannis.

Sam Tarly kills an attacking Other using a dragonglass dagger during the Night's Watch retreat from the Fist of the First Men.

Jon Snow and Ygritte have sex together in a hidden cave pool beneath the Wall, breaking his oath of celibacy.

The wildlings begin their treacherous ascent of the Wall, and their leader Jarl plunges to his death during the climb.

Starving Night's Watch rangers mutiny at Craster's Keep, killing both Craster and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.

Sam and Gilly flee Craster's Keep together after Sam holds the dying Jeor Mormont in his arms.

Daenerys conquers the city of Yunkai, and the freed people pour into the streets to celebrate her as Mhysa, meaning mother.

Sandor Clegane kidnaps Arya Stark from the Brotherhood Without Banners and rides with her toward the Twins.

Sandor and Arya pose as servants delivering goods to infiltrate the Twins during Edmure Tully's wedding feast.

Sam leads Bran and his companions through the hidden Black Gate beneath the Nightfort, allowing them to cross the Wall.

Stannis Baratheon's army arrives at the Wall and destroys the wildling forces, breaking the siege of Castle Black.

Arya Stark presents the iron coin given to her by Jaqen H'ghar and secures passage on a ship bound for Braavos.

While the War of the Five Kings convulses the south, equally consequential events unfold on its margins. At the Wall, the Night's Watch faces the supernatural threat of the Others, and Jon Snow infiltrates the wildling army while struggling between his love for Ygritte and his oath as a ranger. Sam kills an Other with dragonglass and proves these undead warriors can be stopped, but a mutiny at Craster's Keep kills Lord Commander Mormont and forces Sam and Gilly to flee into the frozen wilderness. In the Riverlands, Arya Stark finds uneasy shelter with the outlaw Brotherhood Without Banners before Sandor Clegane kidnaps her and drags her toward the Twins just as the Red Wedding unfolds. On Essos, Daenerys expands her liberation campaign from Astapor to Yunkai, earning the devotion of thousands of freed people who call her Mhysa and cementing her identity as a ruler rather than just a conqueror. The pool closes with Bran crossing the Wall through Sam's help, Stannis's army breaking the wildling siege, and Arya escaping west by sea toward an uncertain future in the Free Cities.

Jon, Bran, Sam, Daenerys, and Arya beyond the reach of the main war.

Sansa Stark truthfully reveals Joffrey's cruelty to Lady Olenna Tyrell during a private supper arranged by Margaery.

Robb Stark personally executes his own bannerman Lord Rickard Karstark for murdering Lannister prisoners without authorization.

The Brave Companions capture Jaime and Brienne, and Vargo Hoat orders Jaime's sword hand cut off as punishment for his arrogance.

Brienne of Tarth urges a despondent Jaime to live and fight for revenge rather than surrender to despair over his lost hand.

Sandor Clegane defeats Beric Dondarrion in a trial by combat and wins his acquittal despite Arya's furious protests.

Jaime confesses to Brienne in a shared bath why he truly killed King Aerys: to stop the wildfire destruction of King's Landing.

Jaime Lannister leaps into a bear pit at Harrenhal to rescue Brienne from being killed for the Brave Companions' entertainment.

Robb Stark declares Jon Snow his heir and successor before his forces depart for the Frey wedding at the Twins.

Arstan Whitebeard reveals himself as Barristan Selmy and exposes Ser Jorah Mormont as a spy reporting to the Lannisters.

Jaime Lannister defies his father Tywin's direct orders and insists on remaining Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

Petyr Baelish reveals to Sansa that Lady Olenna Tyrell was the one who placed poison in Joffrey's wine cup.

Shae takes the witness stand at Tyrion's murder trial and testifies falsely against him, devastating him publicly.

Stannis Baratheon offers to legitimize Jon Snow as a true Stark and name him Lord of Winterfell in exchange for fealty.

Tyrion strangles Shae with the chain of the Hand after finding her naked in his father Tywin's bed.

Catelyn Stark rises from the dead and silently condemns a Frey conspirator to be hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners.

This pool traces the pivotal decisions and shocking revelations that redirect each major character's journey through the novel. Jaime Lannister loses his sword hand and must rebuild his identity from nothing, guided by Brienne's example of honor, which compels him to rescue her from the bear pit, defy Tywin, and ultimately choose the Kingsguard over a comfortable life at Casterly Rock. Robb Stark's authority fractures as he executes his own bannerman and names an unexpected heir, choices that come too late to save him from the betrayal closing in at the Twins. Daenerys is forced to confront deception within her own inner circle when Barristan Selmy exposes Jorah Mormont as a Lannister spy, shattering the loyalty she trusted most and pushing her to rule on her own terms. In King's Landing, a rigged trial ends with Shae's devastating false testimony against Tyrion, driving him to kill both Shae and Tywin before escaping into exile. The pool closes with Stannis offering Jon Snow a transformed identity that Jon refuses to accept, and the murdered Catelyn Stark rising from the dead as a silent, implacable instrument of vengeance.

The decisive reversals and shocking discoveries that reshape every character's fate.