Determined for 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 that cause them to spontaneously combust or leave them without eyes or a mouth, Buffy and the gang suspect that one of the cheerleader wannabes is practicing witchcraft and is trying to eliminate her competition.

When Xander and most of the male population of Sunnydale High fall for the substitute science teacher Miss French, Buffy tries to warn him that she may not be what she seems when she sees the well-proportioned female specimen scare off a vampire.

Buffy sets her sights on the mysterious and brooding Owen and she opts to go on a date rather than help Giles prevent a prophecy about an unstoppable vampire rising to help the Master. Giles decides to face the prophecy alone and gets himself trapped and when Buffy is forced to save him she learns that Owen is a little too enticed by her dangerous lifestyle.

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.

After saving her from a gang of vampire warriors, Angel and Buffy's "relationship" grows until he reveals his true self to her. Angel is really 'Angelus', a 240-year-old vampire who has a reputation for being the most violent creature to ever walk the Earth. Faced with the reality that her possible true love is an enemy, Buffy must ask herself - can a vampire really be a good person or must she do her sworn duty and destroy him?

Willow, saddened by Xander's affection for Buffy turns to the chat rooms and meets a charming boy on-line, ignoring Buffy's concerns about Internet freaks. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang discover a demon trapped in the school computer network.

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.

When a seemingly evil invisible force centers around Cordelia, Buffy investigates and discovers that a student who was ignored by all her classmates, including Willow and Xander; became invisible by their perception of her and she plans revenge on Cordelia because of her popularity.

With the help of Angel, Giles discovers an ancient prophecy which foresees that Buffy will die if she fights The Master. Upon hearing of her doom, Buffy is met with the biggest decision of her young life. When vampires attack a group of students at the school, Buffy decides to face her destiny. Unfortunately, the prophecy is deceiving and it is actually Buffy who frees the Master when he feeds on her and gains the power to break through the barrier. Buffy falls unconscious into a pool of water and drowns but Xander and Angel arrive in time and Xander performs CPR to bring her back. Buffy wakes and is stronger after the encounter and the three head to the school to stop the Master, while the rest of the gang have their hands full fighting off the Hellmouth.