The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, set 64 years before the events of the original Hunger Games trilogy, tells the story of young Coriolanus Snow, a charming and ambitious student at the Academy. Coriolanus, later known as President Snow, is determined to rise through the ranks of Panem's elite and regain his family's lost fortune. When he's assigned to mentor a tribute from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird, a charismatic and talented singer-songwriter, he sees an opportunity to gain fame and wealth.