In Panem, Noble Snow Family Patriarch General Crassus dies during the First Rebellion with the Districts. Thirteen years later, Crassus' eighteen-year-old son Coriolanus determines to restore his family's prosperity. Coriolanus is among twenty-four mentors in the 10th Annual Hunger Games. To increase viewership, Dean Casca Highbottom, who created the Games, wants to focus on tributes entertaining viewers rather than winning.
Coriolanus is selected to mentor District 12 female tribute Lucy Gray Baird. During the reaping ceremony, Lucy Gray charms Capitol viewers by singing and slipping a snake into the dress of Mayfair, the mayor's daughter. Coriolanus wants Lucy Gray to continue garnering viewers' favor, as the mentor of the best-performing tribute is promised a fortune. He later earns Lucy Gray's trust and helps her win Capitol citizens' sympathy.
Many tributes die in the Game's initial chaos. Gaul implements Coriolanus' suggestions, resulting in increased Capitol viewership. Lucy Gray survives the carnage by escaping through an explosion-caused hole and hiding in a service tunnel with Jessup, District 12's male tribute. Jessup develops rabies from an infected bat that bit him on the train transporting him and the other tributes to the Capitol; his mentor kills him to save Lucy Gray, as requested by Coriolanus.
