Teenagers Elena Gilbert and her brother, Jeremy, lost their parents in a tragic car accident. They are now forced to live with their Aunt Jenna, who is doing her best to act as a surrogate parent.

As the new school year begins at Mystic Falls High School, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a good looking, mysterious new student named Stefan. Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to each other, but Elena doesn't understand his strange behavior when he appears at the cemetery where her parents are buried. What she doesn't realize is that Stefan is hiding a secret – the fact that he's a vampire.

After one of their friends is attacked, Stefan returns home to find his older brother, Damon, whom he hasn't seen for 15 years. Damon is also a vampire, and the two brothers have a long, bitter history.