The fiftieth Hunger Games begin with a change to the Quarter Quell: twice as many young people will be taken from their homes. In District 12, Haymitch Abernathy would rather think about the girl he loves than his chances in the reaping. When his name is called, that private future is abruptly put in jeopardy.

A contest rigged against him

Haymitch is sent to the Capitol with three other District 12 tributes: a young friend he regards almost as a sister, a compulsive odds-maker, and a girl known for her proud manner. As the Games unfold, he realizes he has been set up to lose. His impulse to fight, however, reaches beyond the immediate struggle for survival in the arena.

A return to Panem’s past

The novel revisits Panem twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games, beginning on the day of the Fiftieth Hunger Games. It is the fifth book in the series and turns the familiar spectacle of the Games toward the choices and bonds placed under pressure before Haymitch’s fight reaches its wider consequences.