Hurin, Lord of Dor-lomin, led forces of men and elves against Morgoth in Angband. When the battle is going badly he stays to fight to give others a chance to escape. He is captured and taken to Morgoth, who tortures him and curses him and his family. His wife, Morwen, sends his young son Turin to the safety of Doriath. Morwen stays in Dor-lomin with her young daughter, Nienor, that Turin has never met.
As Turin grows up, he becomes a fierce warrior and earns honor in the army of Doriath. Through a terrible misunderstanding, he is banished from Doriath and lives a careless life, roaming the wilderness and hiding his true identity from everyone he meets.
Because of the curse that Morgoth put on Hurin's family, nothing Turin does goes right. His pride and his temper were his main downfalls; they caused him to kill other men and live a lonesome life as an outcast from society.
Meanwhile, Morwen and Nienor also flee to Doriath for safety. They discover that Turin has gone to Nargothrond which is under siege by Glaurung the dragon, and go to find him. When they approach, the are confronted by Glaurung himself and Nienor falls under his spell. She forgets who she is and runs half-crazed and half-naked through the woods. When the men of Brethil find her, she is nearly dead, but Turin, who has since come to Brethil, takes care of her and she heals. As she recovers, they fall in love, not knowing they are brother and sister.
Glaurung comes to Brethil to wreak havoc, and Turin and the men of Brethil devise a scheme to kill him. During the ambush of Glaurung, Turin's two companions are killed, but Turin succeeds and the great dragon dies. Turin is almost dead, himself. Nienor flees from the fortress to find Turin, and she finds him. As the dragon is dying, she is released from the spell and is told that Turin is actually her brother. In great distress, she jumps off a cliff and kills herself. When Turin is healed and hears what happened he goes to place where she jumped and fell on his sword. So, through Glaurung, Morgoth fulfilled his curse on the children of Hurin and they all perish in dreadful ways. Thus the line of Hador the Golden-headed, Lord of Dor-Lomin, ended.