The story follows Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter known as a witcher, who travels the Continent slaying dangerous beasts for coin. His path is tied by destiny to a powerful sorceress named Yennefer of Vengerberg and a young princess with a mysterious gift named Ciri. The narrative unfolds across three different timelines that gradually converge.
Yennefer’s origin story is shown in a separate timeline. Originally a hunchbacked girl sold by her stepfather, she is taken to the sorcerous academy of Aretuza. There, she undergoes a painful magical transformation to become beautiful and powerful, but at the cost of her ability to bear children. She becomes a court mage but grows disillusioned, longing for a greater purpose and a way to regain what she lost.
Geralt’s adventures often involve navigating political intrigues and moral ambiguities. He reluctantly becomes involved in the affairs of kingdoms, notably Cintra. He unknowingly invokes the “Law of Surprise” to claim a child surprise from Queen Calanthe, which later ties him to Princess Cirilla. He also meets and forms a complicated, on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Yennefer, bound by a wish he made to a djinn.
Princess Cirilla’s timeline begins with the fall of her kingdom, Cintra, to the invading Nilfgaardian Empire. Her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, dies in the attack. Ciri flees alone into the forest, following her grandmother’s last command to find Geralt of Rivia, a name she has heard since childhood as her destiny.
The various threads come together in the finale. Ciri, lost and desperate, finally encounters Geralt in a remote forest. At the same moment, Yennefer, having survived a great battle at Sodden Hill against Nilfgaard, is also searching for a new path. The season ends with Geralt and Ciri meeting for the first time, each realizing they are the other’s destiny.