Paradise Lost opens with Satan on the surface of a boiling lake of lava in Hell (ouch!); he has just fallen from Heaven, and wakes up to find himself in a seriously horrible place. He finds his first lieutenant (his right-hand man), and together they get off the lava lake and go to a nearby plain, where they rally the fallen angels. They have a meeting and decide to destroy Adam and Eve (God's children and precious science experiment) in order to spite God. Satan volunteers for the job and leaves Hell to go look for Adam and Eve.
The scene then shifts to Heaven (Book 3), where God talks about how he can see what Satan is planning. He knows everything all the time. He has a conversation with His Son, says he knows that Satan will tempt mankind and that Adam and Eve will eat the fruit of the Forbidden Tree. He needs to know if anyone will intervene on man's behalf. The Son volunteers, which makes God and all the angels in Heaven very happy.
