King Lear of Britain has decided to divide his kingdom into three parts, and to hand over the responsibilities of ruling to his three daughters. The two oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, flatter their father insincerely, and are rewarded. Cordelia, the youngest, sincerely loves her father, but she cannot match her sisters' skill at false adulation. The king takes away her portion of the kingdom, despite the pleadings of some of his most loyal nobles....

England, 1554. Henry VIII is dead. The country is divided, Catholic against Protestant. Henry's eldest daughter Mary, a fervent Catholic, is Queen. She is childless. The Catholics' greatest fear is the succession of Mary's Protestant half-sister, Elizabeth. After Mary's death, Elizabeth ascends to the throne, thrust into an edgy world of political and religious flux she struggles to protect her power, life, and independence as the court boils with...

In this fourth season based on George R.R. Martin's bestselling books, the Lannisters' control over the Iron Throne remains intact. While an unshaken Stannis Baratheon continues to rebuild his army on Dragonstone, a more immediate danger comes from the south, as Oberyn Martell, the Lannister-loathing 'Red Viper of Dorne,' arrives at King's Landing to attend Joffrey's wedding.