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Through Aristodemus' narration, the life of young Leonidas is depicted, chronicling his journey from a boy to a man through the Spartan doctrine of Agoge. The climax of this is when the young Leonidas kills a giant wolf using an improvised spear, after which he returns to Sparta and is crowned king. Years later, Persian messengers arrive at the gates of Sparta demanding its submission to King Xerxes. Offended by their threats and behavior, Leonidas and his guards kick the messengers down a well. Knowing that these actions will precipitate a Persian attack, Leonidas visits the Ephors, ancient priests whose blessing he needs to convince the Spartan council to authorize going to war. He proposes a strategy to repel the numerically superior Persians by using the terrain of Thermopylae (the Hot Gates); his plan involves funneling the Persians into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Ephors consult the Oracle Pythia, who decrees that Sparta must not go to war. After Leonidas departs a messenger from Xerxes appears, rewarding the Ephors for their covert support and revealing that they have been corrupted by Xerxes.

Denied by the Ephors, Leonidas follows his plan anyway, deciding to set out with only 300 soldiers. While he does not require the council's permission for this, taking such a small force turns what had been a bold strategy into a certain suicide mission. Leonidas hopes that the sacrifice of himself and his men will spur the council to defy the Ephors and all of Greece to unite against the threat to freedom and democracy (represented by Greece) posed by slavery and tyranny (represented by Persia).

Along the way to Thermopylae, the Spartans are joined by Arcadians and various other Greeks. Along the path, the band encounters a sacked town burning on fire, apparently caused by Persian Immortals. Only a young child is left to live. They construct a wall at Thermopylae to contain the approaching Persian advance. Meanwhile, Leonidas encounters Ephialtes, a hunchbacked Spartan whose parents fled Sparta to spare him certain infanticide. Ephialtes asks to redeem his father's name by joining Leonidas, warning him of a secret path the Persians could use to outflank and surround them. Leonidas is sympathetic to the eager warrior but rejects him, as Ephialtes cannot properly hold a shield, which would compromise the Spartans' phalanx formation.

Prior to the battle, the Persians demand that the Spartans lay down their weapons. Leonidas refuses, and with their tightly-knit phalanx formation the Spartans use the narrow terrain to repeatedly rebuff the advancing Persian army. Xerxes personally approaches Leonidas to persuade him to surrender, offering Leonidas wealth and power in exchange for his loyalty. Leonidas declines, promising instead to make the "God-King" bleed. Outraged, Xerxes sends in his elite guard, the Immortals, whom the Spartans dispatch. As the Spartans continue to defeat Xerxes' forces, Ephialtes defects to the Persian king and reveals the location of the secret path. When they realize Ephialtes' treachery, the Arcadians retreat. Leonidas orders a reluctant Aristodemus to return to Sparta to tell the Council of their sacrifice.

In Sparta, Gorgo, Queen of Sparta reluctantly submits sexually to the influential Theron in exchange for help in persuading the Spartan council to send reinforcements to Leonidas. Following her address to the Council, Theron publicly betrays the Queen, prompting the councilmen to cry out in outrage and Gorgo to kill him out of rage, spilling open a bag of Persian coins from his robe. The exposure of Theron's treachery, along with their Queen's plea, prompts the Council to unite against Persia. Meanwhile, at Thermopylae, the Persians use the goat path to surround the Spartans. Xerxes' general demands their surrender, again offering Leonidas titles and prestige. Leonidas seemingly bows in submission, allowing one of his men to leap over him and kill the general instead. A furious Xerxes orders his troops to attack. As Persian archers shoot at the remaining Spartans, Leonidas rises and hurls his spear at Xerxes, cutting the King on the cheek, thus making good on his promise to make "the God-King bleed." Visibly disturbed by this reminder of his own mortality, Xerxes watches as all of the Spartans are slaughtered by a massive barrage of arrows.

Concluding his tale before an audience of attentive Spartans, Aristodemus declares that the Persian army, depleted by desertions out of fear and the heavy casualties they suffered at the hands of a mere 300 Spartans, now faces 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 Greeks. Although still outnumbered, Aristodemus declares that the Greeks shall have victory. Praising the sacrifice of King Leonidas of Sparta, Aristodemus leads the brave Greeks in a charge against the Persian army, beginning the Battle of Plataea.

The story takes place in the context of historical events in Middle-earth. In those histories, prior to the start of the novel and not known to the main characters, Sauron forges the Ruling Ring in Mordor. In battle, Isildur cuts off Sauron's ring and claims it for himself. Isildur is later killed by Orcs, and the Ring is lost in the river Anduin. Over two thousand years later, Gollum murderously obtains the Ring whilst fishing in the river. Gollum keeps the Ring for nearly five hundred years before losing it, whereupon Bilbo Baggins finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron, whose spirit was kept alive by the Ring, reoccupies Mordor. Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured near Mordor and interrogated by Sauron, who learns of its finding by Bilbo. Gollum is set loose but is caught by Aragorn, Isildur's heir, and imprisoned by the Elves in Mirkwood. Meanwhile, Sauron sends forth his fearsome servants, the Ringwraiths, to seize the Ring.

The novel begins in the Shire, as Frodo Baggins inherits the Ring from Bilbo; both are unaware of its origins. Gandalf the Grey, a wizard, learns of the Ring's history and advises Frodo to take the Ring away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, taking his gardener and friend, Samwise ("Sam") Gamgee, and two cousins, Merry and Pippin, to help him. They encounter the Ringwraiths whilst still in the Shire, but shake off the pursuit by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are aided by the enigmatic and powerful character Tom Bombadil. After passing the Barrow-downs with Tom's help, they stop for a night in the town of Bree. There they meet Aragorn who calls himself "Strider" and joins them as guide and protector. They leave Bree after narrowly escaping an attack by the Ringwraiths. On the journey to Rivendell, Frodo is wounded by the Ringwraiths who continue in close pursuit. At the Ford of Bruinen, Frodo and the others are rescued, as flood waters controlled by Elrond, master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm the Ringwraiths, sweeping them away.

Frodo recovers under the care of Elrond. The Council of Elrond reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, and news of the escape of Gollum from Mirkwood and Sauron's corruption of the wizard Saruman. The Council decides that the threat of Sauron is too great and that the best course of action is to destroy the Ring. This can be done only by returning it to the Cracks of Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, and a "Fellowship of the Ring" is chosen to accompany him. The Fellowship was comprised of nine members, to set out against the nine Ringwraiths that were evil. Along with Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin went Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli - the son of Gloin, one of the dwarves that accompanied Bilbo on his quest, Legolas - an elf from the woodland realm of Mirkwood, and a man - Boromir from the realm of Gondor.

The company is forced to travel through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by Orcs. Gandalf fights a Balrog and falls into a deep chasm; the others escape, and take refuge in the Elven forest of Lothlórien. With boats and gifts from the Lady Galadriel, the company then travel down the great River Anduin to Amon Hen. There Boromir, heir to the current Steward of Gondor, succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo, who breaks from the Fellowship and continues the trek to Mordor accompanied only by Sam.

Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron attack, killing Boromir and kidnapping Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the Orcs into Rohan. Merry and Pippin escape when the Orcs are slain by the Rohirrim and find themselves in Fangorn forest where they befriend the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas encounter Gandalf, who is now "Gandalf the White", in Fangorn forest. Gandalf travels with them to rouse Théoden, King of Rohan, and the Rohirrim to take a stand against Saruman's armies. Théoden initially decides to fight Saruman's forces at the fords of the river Isen, but upon hearing that those who defended that area have retreated to the fortress of Helm's Deep, he decides to make his stand there. Gandalf rides to Isengard; while Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn travel with Théoden and his nephew Éomer. After much fighting at Helm's Deep, the Rohirrim mount a final charge and drive the Orcs into a forest of Huorns raised by the Ents, where they disappear, just as Gandalf arrives.

The Ents destroy Saruman's remaining forces in Isengard. Gandalf, Théoden and the others arrive at Isengard. Saruman, however, refuses to see the error of his ways, and Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers, and the Ents imprison him there. Pippin looks into a palantír, a seeing-stone that Sauron had used to communicate with Saruman, unknowingly leading Sauron to think that Saruman has captured the Ring-bearer. Gandalf takes Pippin to Gondor to remove him from the temptation of the palantír.

Frodo and Sam capture Gollum and force him to guide them to Mordor. They travel a long and hard road, briefly aided by Boromir's brother, Faramir. Gollum betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo is left unconscious by Shelob's bite, but Sam fights her off using Sting and the vial of light from Ëarendil's star — one of the Lady Galadriel's gifts. Sam, believing Frodo dead, takes the Ring, and Frodo is carried to the tower of Cirith Ungol by Orcs.

Sauron begins his military assault upon Gondor, with the Witch-king of Angmar, greatest of the nine Ringwraiths, commanding Sauron's armies in the battle.

Gandalf arrives at the City of Minas Tirith in Gondor with Pippin, to alert the Steward of the impending attack. Pippin becomes one of the Guards of the Citadel of Minas Tirith, while Merry becomes esquire to the King of Rohan. Aragorn takes Gimli and Legolas through the Paths of the Dead where he raises an undead army of oath-breakers. These help him to defeat the armies of the Corsairs of Umbar in southern Gondor, enabling the region's forces to sail to the aid of Minas Tirith in its Siege.

Denethor, Ruling Steward of Gondor, believing both his sons are dead, loses hope and commits suicide. But, with the timely aid of Rohan's cavalry and Aragorn's reinforcements, a significant portion of Sauron's army is defeated. King Théoden dies in the battle, but the Lord of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king of Angmar, is slain by Éowyn and Merry.

Sam rescues Frodo from captivity, and they make their way through Mordor. After many hardships, they reach Mount Doom. Meanwhile, in the climactic battle at the Black Gate of Mordor, the vastly-outnumbered alliance of Gondor and Rohan fight desperately against Sauron's armies, with the intent of diverting Sauron's attention away from Mount Doom, which Frodo must reach in order to destroy the Ring.

At the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo falls to the lure of the Ring, and claims it for himself. He puts the Ring on his finger. Gollum struggles with Frodo for the Ring, and bites off Frodo's finger, Ring and all; but in so doing he falls into the fire, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is thus unmade the only way it can be: in the same fire in which it was forged. In the instant of its destruction, Sauron perishes, his armies fall apart, the Dark Tower crumbles into dust, the Ringwraiths disintegrate, and the war of the Ring ends.

Amid the victory celebrations, Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor, and he marries Arwen, the daughter of Elrond and his long time love.

Saruman escapes his captivity in Orthanc and enslaves the Shire; but the returning Hobbits raise a rebellion and overthrow Saruman in The Battle of Bywater. Merry and Pippin are acclaimed as heroes. Sam uses his gifts from Galadriel to restore and beautify the Shire, and marries Rosie Cotton. Frodo remains wounded in body and spirit and, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, sails from the Grey Havens west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace. Sam returns home, and eventually becomes Mayor. After Rosie's death, Sam leaves the Red Book of Westmarch with his daughter, and crosses west over the Sea, the last of the Ring-bearers.

In a remote village in France, Balian, a blacksmith, is haunted by his wife's recent suicide, following the stillbirth of their child. A group of Crusaders arrive at the small village and one of them approaches Balian, introducing himself as his out-of-wedlock father, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin. Godfrey, having learned of Balian's recent losses, attempts to persuade Balian to join him as they travel to Jerusalem, in the hope he will eventually take his place as Godfrey's heir. Balian quickly refuses, and, after resupplying and resting, the Crusaders ride on. Shortly afterwards, the corrupt town priest (Balian's half-brother) reveals that his wife's body was beheaded before burial (a customary practice in those times for people who committed suicide) and he has taken the crucifix she wore. Enraged at these insults, Balian slays the priest with the sword he is working on and takes the crucifix necklace his dead wife once wore. Balian quickly decides to follow his father after all, in the hope of gaining redemption and forgiveness for both his wife and himself. Shortly after he catches up to his father, soldiers led by Godfrey's nephew arrive, ostensibly to arrest Balian (The actual reason being the assassination of both Balian and Godfrey under the appearance of a bandit attack, so the nephew would inherit Godfrey's lands around Jerusalem). Godfrey refuses to hand him over and, though they win the ensuing fight, most of Godfrey's band is killed. Godfrey himself is wounded by an arrow and, though he is not killed outright, it becomes clear as their journey continues that he will soon die.

In Messina, Godfrey, on the brink of death, knights Balian and orders him to serve the King of Jerusalem and protect the helpless. He ultimately shares with him his vision of "a kingdom of conscience, morality, and righteousness in the Holy Land", where Muslims and Christians can peacefully coexist, before finally succumbing to his injuries. On Balian's subsequent journey to Jerusalem, his ship is hit by a storm, leaving Balian and a horse as the sole survivors of the wreck. However, the horse then runs away as Balian attempts to mount it. Tracking the horse into the desert, Balian soon finds himself confronting a Muslim cavalier, and his servant, over possession of the horse. Balian slays the horseman in single combat, but spares the servant, asking him to guide him to Jerusalem. Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, Balian releases his prisoner who then tells him his slain master was an important knight amongst the Saracens, and Balian says that he will pray for his soul. As his prisoner departs, he remarks, "Your qualities will be known among your enemies before ever you meet them". Balian goes to Golgotha, where Christ was crucified hoping to hear what God wishes of him. After a night of waiting Balian buries his wife's necklace. After being accepted as the new Lord of Ibelin, Balian soon becomes acquainted with the main players in Jerusalem's political arena: King Baldwin IV, stricken by leprosy yet nevertheless a wise and most sensible ruler, Tiberias, the noble but cynical Marshall of Jerusalem, Princess Sibylla, King Baldwin IV's sister, and Guy de Lusignan, Sibylla's scheming, bloodthirsty, and intolerant husband, who supports the anti-Muslim activities of brutal factions like the Knights Templar. Despite the respect Baldwin engenders from the combined Christian and Muslim population of Jerusalem, Guy, who is determined to rule after Baldwin's inevitable early death, seeks to precipitate a war that will allow him to dispose of the Muslims and claim the Kingdom for Christians alone. He is also threatened by Balian, who he sees as a rival who is having an affair with Sybilla.

Guy and his co-conspirator Raynald of Châtillon massacre a Muslim trade caravan with the aid of the Templars. Saladin, leader of the Muslim forces seeking to retake Jerusalem, attacks Kerak, Raynald's castle, to bring him to account for his crime. Balian decides to defend Kerak Castle from Saladin's cavalry, in order to protect the innocent villagers surrounding the castle. Though outnumbered, Balian and his knights charge Saladin's cavalry, allowing the villagers time to flee to the castle; Balian's cavalry is soon routed resulting in the capture of him and his men. In captivity, Balian encounters the 'servant' he freed, Imad ad-Din, learning he is actually one of Saladin's Generals, who then returns the favor, freeing Balian to Kerak as Saladin arrives with his infantry to besiege Kerak. King Baldwin IV then arrives with his main army, successfully negotiates a Muslim retreat with Saladin and averts a potential bloodbath. At Saladin's camp, several of his Generals are angry that he made a truce, but Saladin dismisses these complaints as a foolhardy rush to war; he will only launch an attack against Jerusalem after ample preparation, when he feels he is strategically strong enough. Baldwin beats Raynald and orders his arrest, but the stress of the events causes him to collapse, and his physicians discover he will die shortly.
Baldwin asks Balian to marry Sybilla, knowing that the pair have affection for each other, but Balian does not accept as he refuses to be associated with the necessary murder of Guy; such political intrigue being counter to Balian's morality. After Baldwin finally dies, Sibylla's son Baldwin V a child of six years becomes King of Jerusalem. Guy goes to Raynald for advice and realizes that even though Balian is not King, he can still become the General of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Aware of this threat, and infuriated by the knowledge of his wife's affair with Balian, Guy sends several Templars to murder him, but they fail, with Balian narrowly managing to defeat the assassins. It is soon realized that Baldwin is stricken like his uncle with leprosy; crushed by the knowledge of this, Sibylla euthanizes her son, preventing him from suffering. Sibylla succeeds her son and therefore names Guy as her King Consort of Jerusalem. Guy, now free to do as he pleases, releases Raynald, and has Raynald and his Templar lackeys provoke Saladin to war by murdering innocent Saracens, among them Saladin's sister. When Saladin sends an emissary to demand the return of his sister's body, the heads of those responsible, and the surrender of Jerusalem, Guy answers by cutting the emissary's throat, nearly causing a fight between Tiberias's knights, the Knights Hospitaler, and the Knights Templar. As the emissary's body is towed away, Guy arrogantly whispers "I am Jerusalem" and orders Jerusalem's army to be assembled for war.
Subsequently, in their arrogance, they march to the desert without adequate food and water to fight Saladin, leaving Jerusalem unguarded except for Balian, his personal knights, and the townspeople. Saladin's army ambushes Guy and Raynald, and the Crusader army is annihilated. Guy and Raynald themselves are captured; Saladin executes Raynald, and then marches on Jerusalem, sparing Guy out of tradition but stating that he is not worthy of this. Balian prepares the defences, challenging the Patriarch's advice to flee, and then makes a symbolic gesture by knighting a number of men-at-arms to raise morale, even knighting the man who buried his wife in France. Balian insists that their goal is to defend Jerusalem's population, not the city itself. Knowing full well they cannot defeat the Saracens, the defenders' only hope is to delay their enemies long enough for them to negotiate
Saladin's siege of Jerusalem is three days of battle wherein Balian demonstrates tactical skill in knocking down siege towers, before inspiring the defenders to hold the line when a section of city wall is opened. Having proven their resolve, Saladin offers terms: Balian surrenders Jerusalem to Saladin when Saladin offers the inhabitants safe passage to Christian lands. Balian points out that when the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem a hundred years previously, they massacred the Muslim inhabitants, but Saladin assures him that he is a man of honor, and, keeping his word, allows Balian and his people to leave: Balian also asks Saladin what Jerusalem means to him, to which he replies "Nothing, and everything". Balian encounters a freed Guy who fights Balian but loses. Facing a defeated Guy, Balian tells him "When you rise again, if you rise again, rise a knight."

In the marching column of citizens, he finds Sibylla, and convinces her to come with him. Saladin's forces destroy many of the Christian books and make the church into a mosque. Privately, Saladin picks up a cross that was thrown off and puts it back on the table as well as refusing to step on the stones carved with crucifixes.

Later, Balian has returned to his village in France. A column of English knights rides through, led by King Richard I of England, who tells Balian that they are commencing a new Crusade to retake Jerusalem from Saladin. King Richard states that he is looking for Balian, who, in essence, says that his time in the Holy Land is finished, and refuses to go with them. Having been rebuffed, Richard and his knights ride off. Balian is met by Sybilla, and after a brief stop at the grave of Balian's wife, they ride off into the sunset.

An epilogue states that King Richard failed in his Crusade, negotiated an uneasy truce with Saladin after three years of war, and that "nearly a thousand years later, peace in the Kingdom of Heaven remains elusive."

In 1280 King Edward I of England, known as "Longshanks", has occupied much of Scotland, and his oppressive rule there leads to the deaths of William Wallace's father and brother. Years later, after Wallace has been raised abroad by his uncle, the Scots continue to live under the iron fist of Longshanks' cruel laws. Wallace returns, intent on living as a farmer and avoiding involvement in the ongoing "troubles." Wallace rekindles a romance with his childhood friend Murron after showing her the carefully preserved thistle she gave him as a child, and the two marry in secret to avoid the primae noctis decree the King has set forth. Later, Murron is caught by an englishman who attempts to rape her, when she fights back, the man slaps her across the face. Wallace saves her and believes she has escaped the scene. However, the village sheriff captures her and publicly cuts Murron's throat. In retribution, an enraged Wallace, with the assistance of his fellow villagers, slaughters the English garrison. He cuts the sheriff's throat on the same post and with the same dagger that killed Murron.

Knowing that the local English lord will retaliate, Wallace and his men enter his castle dressed in English uniforms and burn it down. In response to Wallace's exploits, the commoners of Scotland rise in revolt against England. As his legend spreads, hundreds of Scots from the surrounding clans volunteer to join Wallace's militia. Wallace leads his army through a series of successful battles against the English, including the Battle of Stirling and the sack the city of York. However, two Scottish nobles, who plan on submitting to Edward, betray Wallace, who is defeated at the Battle of Falkirk.

Wallace goes into hiding, fighting a guerrilla war against English forces, and personally murders the two Scottish nobles who betrayed him at Falkirk. Meanwhile, Princess Isabelle of France, whose husband Prince Edward (Longshanks's son and heir) ignores her, meets with Wallace as the English king's emissary. Having heard of him beforehand and after meeting him in person, she becomes enamored with him and secretly assists him in his fight. Eventually, she and Wallace share a tryst, in which she becomes pregnant.

Still believing there is some good in the nobility of his country, Wallace eventually agrees to meet with the young Robert the Bruce, son of the leper noble Robert the Bruce and the chief contender for the Scottish crown, in Edinburgh. However, he is caught in a trap set by the elder Bruce and other nobles, beaten unconscious, and handed over to the English crown. Learning of his father's doings, the younger Bruce disowns him forever.

In London, Wallace is brought before the English magistrates and tried for high treason. He denies the charges, declaring that he had never accepted Edward as his King. The court responds by sentencing him to be "purified by pain." After the sentencing, a shaken Wallace prays for strength during the upcoming torture, but clandestinely rejects a painkiller brought to him by Isabelle. Afterwards, she goes to her husband and father-in-law, begging them to show mercy, but they refuse: she retaliates by tormenting the terminally ill King with the knowledge she is pregnant with Wallace's child. The torture takes place in a London square, where he is hanged, racked, and disemboweled. The magistrate offers him a quick death in exchange for a plea for mercy. Awed by Wallace's courage, the Londoners watching the execution begin to yell for mercy to be given. William signals to the magistrate that he wishes to speak. Using the last strength in his body, he cries, "Freedom!" and turns his head, seeing an image of Murron in the crowd smiling at him as he is beheaded.

Some time later, Robert the Bruce takes control of the remaining Scottish army and faces a ceremonial line of English troops at the fields of Bannockburn. Invoking Wallace's memory and cheering his name, Robert the Bruce and the Scots charge the stunned English lines and win their freedom.

Still believing there is some good in the nobility of his country, Wallace eventually agrees to meet with the young Robert the Bruce, son of the leper noble Robert the Bruce and the chief contender for the Scottish crown, in Edinburgh. However, he is caught in a trap set by the elder Bruce and other nobles, beaten unconscious, and handed over to the English crown. Learning of his father's doings, the younger Bruce disowns him forever.

In London, Wallace is brought before the English magistrates and tried for high treason. He denies the charges, declaring that he had never accepted Edward as his King. The court responds by sentencing him to be "purified by pain." After the sentencing, a shaken Wallace prays for strength during the upcoming torture, but clandestinely rejects a painkiller brought to him by Isabelle. Afterwards, she goes to her husband and father-in-law, begging them to show mercy, but they refuse: she retaliates by tormenting the terminally ill King with the knowledge she is pregnant with Wallace's child. The torture takes place in a London square, where he is hanged, racked, and disemboweled. The magistrate offers him a quick death in exchange for a plea for mercy. Awed by Wallace's courage, the Londoners watching the execution begin to yell for mercy to be given. William signals to the magistrate that he wishes to speak. Using the last strength in his body, he cries, "Freedom!" and turns his head, seeing an image of Murron in the crowd smiling at him as he is beheaded.

Some time later, Robert the Bruce takes control of the remaining Scottish army and faces a ceremonial line of English troops at the fields of Bannockburn. Invoking Wallace's memory and cheering his name, Robert the Bruce and the Scots charge the stunned English lines and win their freedom.