Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying realityTV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced toappear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only onerule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeesteps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, shesees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to deathbefore. For her, survival is second nature.