Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sisters place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when shes pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If shes ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.