Eddard Stark the honorable lord of Winterfell is summoned to serve as Hand of the King by his old friend King Robert Baratheon. He travels to the capital Kings Landing with his daughters Sansa and Arya leaving his wife Catelyn and his sons in the North. There Ned uncovers dangerous secrets about the royal family realizing that Queen Cersei Lannisters children are not Roberts true heirs but the result of her affair with her brother Jaime. Meanwhile in the East the exiled Targaryen siblings Viserys and Daenerys plot to reclaim the Iron Throne. Daenerys is married off to Khal Drogo a powerful Dothraki warlord and gradually transforms from a frightened girl into a confident leader. In the North Neds illegitimate son Jon Snow joins the Nights Watch a sworn brotherhood guarding the massive Wall that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the dangers beyond. Jon soon learns that ancient threats the White Walkers are returning after centuries. As tensions rise in the capital Ned confronts Cersei with the truth about her children. When King Robert dies Ned tries to protect the realm by placing the rightful heir on the throne but he is betrayed by Petyr Baelish and imprisoned for treason. In the shocking finale Ned Stark is executed by the new boy king Joffrey Baratheon plunging the Seven Kingdoms into chaos. Robb Stark rallies the North to war Tyrion Lannister becomes Hand of the King and Daenerys hatches three dragon eggs marking the return of dragons to the world and the beginning of a new era in Westeros.