 Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Political and sexual intrigue abound. The primary families are the Starks and the Baratheon families. Robert Baratheon, King of Westeros, asks his old friend Eddard Stark to serve as his chief advisor. Eddard, suspecting that his predecessor had been murdered, accepts so that he can investigate further. It turns out more than one family is plotting to take the throne. The Queen s family, the Lannisters, may be hatching an incestuous plot to take control. The last surviving members of the previously deposed ruling family, the Targaryens, are also plotting a return to power. The conflict between these families and three others, the Greyjoys, the Arryns and the Tyrells, leads to a civil war known as the War of Five Kings. Meanwhile, in the north, mysterious creatures begin attacking the northern wall, turning their victims into undead horrors.