When three witches prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually king, his ambition is ignited and, urged by Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan to claim the throne, only to be haunted by guilt and plagued by visions. To secure his power he arranges Banquo’s murder, but Banquo’s son Fleance escapes and Banquo’s ghost appears at a banquet, exposing Macbeth’s growing paranoia. Convinced by deceptive apparitions that he is invulnerable, Macbeth orders the slaughter of Macduff’s family after learning the nobleman has fled to England to rally forces for Malcolm. As Malcolm’s army advances, using branches to mimic the moving Birnam Wood foretold by the witches, Macbeth clings to his false sense of destiny even as Lady Macbeth descends into madness and dies. In the climactic battle, Macduff—born by Caesarean—confronts and kills Macbeth, allowing Malcolm to assume the throne and restore order to Scotland.