Determined to have a fresh start, Buffy Summers moves to Sunnydale only to find out that it's located on a Hellmouth and that her slaying duties have just begun.

Buffy gradually learns to accept her role as the Slayer and prepares to battle the Master's minions in order to stop the Harvest, a ceremony which will free the Master from his prison in the sewers. Willow and Xander are confided in by Giles about the existence of Vampires and Demons and, although overwhelmed, pledge to help Buffy in her fight.

When several cheerleaders are involved in strange accidents, Buffy and the gang suspect that one of the cheerleader wannabes is practicing witchcraft and is trying to eliminate her competition.

While Xander and most of the male population of Sunnydale High fall for the beautiful substitute science teacher Miss French, Buffy is not so sure about her intentions.

Buffy sets her sights on the mysterious and brooding Owen, opting to go on a date rather than help Giles prevent a prophecy about an unstoppable vampire rising to help the Master.

While enduring the annual field trip to the Zoo, Xander and several other students enter the quarantined Hyena pen and become possessed with the spirit of the wild animal.

Buffy finds herself drawn to the mysterious Angel after he saves her from a gang of vampire warriors, but must ask herself - can a vampire really be a good person or must she do her sworn duty and destroy him?

Feeling lonely, Willow turns to a chatroom and meets a charming boy online. She ignores Buffy's concerns about Internet freaks as the rest of the gang discover a new type of demon.

The new principal forces Giles to run Sunnydale High's annual talent show and Buffy, Willow and Xander have to perform against their will. Things get worse as the talent show proves to be a deadly place when one of the participants is found with her heart removed and the clues all point to one boy and his ventriloquist puppet.

When strange things begin happening to the students at Sunnydale High, it seems that everyone is living their worst nightmares. Buffy and the gang must hold together to stop the phenomena before reality and the nightmare world become one.

As Cordelia campaigns for the May Queen Crown, she finds herself the target of an evil invisible force.

Buffy's life may hang in the balance as Giles uncovers an ancient book that foretells not only her death, but also the end of the world.