[4] In the novel, recounting events from various points of view, Martin introduces the plot-lines of the noble houses of Westeros, the Wall, and the Targaryens.

Ned accepts the position when he learns that Arryn's widow Lysa believes he was poisoned by Robert's wife Queen Cersei Lannister and her family.

Catelyn's childhood friend, Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish, implicates Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of Cersei and Jaime, in the assassination attempt.

On the road back to Winterfell, Catelyn encounters Tyrion by chance, arrests him, and takes him to the Vale, where her sister Lysa Arryn is regent, to stand trial 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.

Ned investigates Jon Arryn's death and eventually discovers that Robert's legal heirs, including Joffrey, are in fact Cersei's children by Jaime (making Robert's uncharismatic younger brother Stannis the rightful heir to the Iron Throne), and that Jon Arryn was killed to conceal his discovery of their incest.

Ned's eldest son Robb marches his army south in response to his father's arrest, and in order to relieve the threat on the riverlands.

To secure a strategically necessary bridge crossing, Catelyn negotiates a marital alliance between Robb and the notoriously unreliable House Frey.

Jon Snow, Ned's bastard son, is inspired by his uncle, Benjen Stark, to join the Night's Watch, but becomes disillusioned when he discovers that its primary function is as a penal colony.

Mormont then declares his intention to march north to find Benjen, dead or alive, and to investigate rumors of a "King-beyond-the-Wall" uniting the wildlings.

Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy merchant who has been supporting the penniless Targaryens, gives Daenerys three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift.

While sacking villages to fund the invasion of Westeros, Drogo is badly wounded, and Daenerys commands the captive folk healer Mirri Maz Duur to save him.

The Guardian outlines characters who are frequently "forced to choose between their love for those close to them and the greater interests of honour, duty and the realm.

Catelyn initially is overwhelmed by grief and does not leave Bran's bedside while he is comatose, ignoring her political responsibilities, choosing family over duty.

But soon after, Catelyn leaves Bran and her family for King's Landing to inform Ned of potential Lannister treason, effectively displaying a more duty fulfilling role.

Family, duty, and honor play major roles in conflicts that arise in the story arc, and qualities traditionally categorized as noble oppose each other in resolution.

Lauren K. Nathan of the Associated Press wrote that the book "grip[s] the reader from Page One" and is set in a "magnificent" fantasy world that is "mystical, but still believable.

"[11] Steve Perry told readers of The Oregonian that the plot is "complex and fascinating" and the book is "rich and colorful" with "all the elements of a great fantasy novel".

"[13] Phyllis Eisenstein of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that, although the book uses many generic fantasy tropes, Martin's approach is "so refreshingly human and intimate that it transcends them."