After winning the 74th Hunger Games in the previous novel, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return home to District 12, the poorest sector in the country of Panem. On the day that Katniss and Peeta are to start a "Victory Tour" of the country, she is visited by President Snow. President Snow explains that he is angry with her for breaking the rules at the end of the last Hunger Games, which permitted them both to win. President Snow tells Katniss that when she defied the Capitol, she inspired rebellion in the districts. In order for Katniss' loved ones to avoid retaliation by Snow, she must convince Snow himself that she and Peeta are in love.
The first stop on the Victory Tour is District 11, the home of Katniss' friend and ally in the Hunger Games, Rue, before she died. During the ceremony, Katniss and Peeta deliver quick speeches to the people of District 11, thanking them for their tributes. When the speeches conclude, an old man whistles a tune that Katniss used in the arena to tell Rue that she was safe. The song acts as a signal and everyone salutes Katniss using the same gesture that she used to say farewell to Rue. Katniss and Peeta then proceed to travel to all of the twelve districts and the Capitol. During an interview, Peeta proposes to Katniss publicly, hoping to settle the dispute between Katniss and President Snow. Despite this, Katniss learns that their attempts of subduing rebellion in the districts and convincing Snow of their relationship have failed. Shortly after returning to District 12, Katniss encounters two runaways from District 8. They explain a theory that District 13 was not wiped out by the Capitol and that its residents have gone underground. President Snow announces that, for the 75th Hunger Games, a "Quarter Quell" that allows the Gamemakers to add a twist, 24 victors from previous years will be forced to compete once again. Katniss resolves to save Peeta, who will almost certainly be the male tribute. Haymitch reveals that he had already agreed to help Peeta accomplish the same for Katniss, but still agrees to help Katniss.
After arriving at the Capitol, Katniss and Peeta look for potential allies among the other tributes. Katniss meets Finnick Odair, a 24-year-old man who successfully survived the Games at the age of 14, and Mags, Finnick's 80-year-old mentor, both from District 4. She also meets Beetee and Wiress, an older couple from District 3 who are said to be "exceptionally smart" and adept at working with electronics. Beetee and Wiress tell Katniss that the Capitol leaves the control panels for their force fields vulnerable in plain sight.
The Games take place on a beach and jungle terrain, with a dome shaped force field enclosing the tributes. When the Games start, Katniss and Peeta form an impromptu alliance with Finnick and Mags. When lightning strikes a tree, the Gamemakers release a poisonous fog in the group's location. Mags sacrifices herself so the other three can escape. After Mags' death, lightning strikes again and the group is attacked by monkey mutations, but all three survive. Katniss, Peeta and Finnick join forces with Johanna Mason, a sarcastic and often cruel victor from District 7, an injured Beetee, and Wiress, who is in shock and repeatedly mumbles "tick tock". From Wiress' words, Katniss realizes that the arena is arranged like a clock, with the Gamemakers' disasters occurring on a timed chart, signaled by the lightning. Other tributes attack the group, killing Wiress, and a battle ensues until the Gamemakers cut it short by shifting the terrain. Beetee devises a plan to harness the arena's lightning to supposedly electrocute the rest of the hostile contenders. At night the group splits to prepare for the plan, but is attacked separately by the remaining tributes. Katniss directs the lightning at the force field's control panel with an arrow, destroying the arena and resulting in her temporary paralysis. When she wakes up, she is being transported to District 13: a place that is widely thought to no longer exist. She is joined by Finnick, Beetee, and Haymitch, but learns that Peeta and Johanna have been captured by the Capitol. Katniss is informed that from the beginning, there had been a plan among most of the contestants, Haymitch, and Gamemaker Plutarch to break her and Peeta out of the arena. The book ends when Katniss' best friend, Gale, comes to visit her and informs her that, though he got her family out in time, District 12 has been bombed and destroyed.
