As chaos grips Westeros, a flaming red comet continues to burn a crimson path across the sky. Some see this fiery herald as a sign of their impending victory. Others see it as a mark of the blood and terror that will soon engulf this divided kingdom. But one thing is certain: None of the six contenders who seek either the Iron Throne, or the lands their ancestors once held as kings, are willing to back down. And as factions scatter or come together, there are many witnesses to the unrest that is to come.

Arya Stark finds herself in the heart of enemy territory at Harrenhal, while her mother is trapped between two brothers battling each other for their dead brother's throne. In the heart of King's Landing, Tyrion is busy ferreting out traitors as the Hand of the King, while Jon is beginning to comprehend the lawlessness of life beyond the Wall. New friends arrive in Winterfell for Bran, a forgotten son finds life in the Iron Islands quite different than he remembered, and the Mother of Dragons at last arrives in the fabled city of Qarth.

But even as these would-be kings draw their lines of battle, it is the people of Westeros who will most suffer for their ambitions. For when kings clash, it is the commoners who bear the greatest cost.