The Iron Throne once united the Sunset Lands, but King Robert is dead, his widow is a traitor to his memory, and his surviving brothers are set on a path of war amongst themselves. In Dragonstone, Stannis has declared himself king, while Renly proclaims himself king at Storm's End, and Eddard Stark's fifteen-year-old son Robb wears the crown of the north at Winterfell. A comet in the night sky, red and malevolent, the colour of blood and flame, can only be an omen of murder and war. Princess Shireen dreams of dragons waking from stone. And a white raven has brought word from the Citadel itself, foretelling the end of summer, the longest in living memory, lasting ten years. The smallfolk say it means an even longer winter to come.