Coriolanus and Lucy Gray fall into a wild, desperate romance. He sneaks into the woods with her, learns the Covey’s songs, tastes real freedom for the first time. He even kills a rebel Peacekeeper to protect her. But when Sejanus is sentenced to death for a rebellion plot, Coriolanus—ever the survivor—records Sejanus’s treasonous words and sends them to Dr. Gaul. Sejanus is hanged. Coriolanus is promoted. Now alone with Lucy Gray in a cabin deep in the woods, Coriolanus discovers the gun used in a triple murder—the mayor’s daughter and two others—is missing. He realizes Lucy Gray may not be the victim he thought. The snake at the reaping? The poison? The songs that twist truth? He begins to see her as a threat.

“You’ll have to kill me before I let you go back to the Capitol,” she whispers, half-laughing. He picks up the gun.

Part One: The Mentor Eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope of the once-proud Snow family. Orphaned by the war that ravaged Panem, he lives in the crumbling Corso mansion with his cousin Tigris and the Grandma’am. They are penniless, surviving on cabbage soup and illusions of grandeur. When the 10th annual Hunger Games are announced, Coriolanus sees his ticket to the University and salvation: he is assigned as a mentor to the female tribute from District 12, the poorest district.