Buffy Anne Summers, resident Vampire Slayer of Sunnydale, California. Spunky, forthright, and occasionally shallow Buffy's world collapsed upon learning who she was and where her destiny lay. She never asked to be a Slayer, she never wanted the life that came pack and parcel along with stakes and holy water. The job of a Chosen One often promised lonely days and even lonelier nights. The ones before her could silently yet eloquently state the truth of this in the diaries of varied Watchers, but Buffy was no ordinary Slayer. Despite the trials of balancing homework with graveyard duty, she found support from many avenues. She also found something beautiful and real out of a world that no longer made sense: Angel. He was her protector, he was the gentle hand that held hers when she had no one to turn to. Their love was simple and pure, despite the fact that he was vampire and she was Slayer. Tragically poetic was their brief union for in 1998 she turned 17 and the rest of her life changed forever. Buffy became the vulnerable girl she really was and became so ripe for the plucking...
Angelus. The one with the angelic face and the heart of a demon. He is the darker side of Angel, the side that revels in hedonistic pleasures and violent bloodlust. Known as the "Scourge of Europe" he is a vampire without equal. Angelus became released after Angel suffered from an unknown clause in his curse: if he knows one moment of true happiness, his soul is lost and he becomes a creature of Hell again. Angel found that happiness in the virginal arms of Buffy, therefore unwittingly bringing back the hidden part of his psyche. Magnificent in his obsessions, Angelus is arrogant, calculating, and remorselessly cruel. A creature that can be incredibly sensual, he would manipulate the very world in order to gain his most ferverent desires...and in the process destroying all for the pleasure of such whims. After being banished for nearly a century Angelus is ready to wreak havoc, yet an even greater need pervades his every thought. Buffy. Just as Angel suffered from the weight of Angelus' memories, so must Angelus suffer from Angel's.
Angelus and Buffy fight for sanity, yet their need for each other cannot be denied. Despite the hatred, despite the betrayal of their own honor, the memories of the flesh cannot be ignored. Buffy will try to resist while Angelus will be obsessed to conquer, yet neither will be prepared for the consequences of such a cruel obsession...
Rupert Giles. He is Buffy's Watcher and a member of the Council. His is an order of secrecy and great power, but Giles' only duty is to train and guide the Slayer. Using a variety of methods he is logical and committed to his calling. A proper and staid Britishman he was quite surprised with Buffy and her unusual way of dealing with slaying, but despite their differences the two have forged a bond. She is like the daughter he never had, and he like the father she should have had. Giles would do everything in his power to see Buffy safe, but even he could not prevent what would occur...
Willow Rosenberg. She is one of Buffy's best friends. Shy and reserved, Willow has been shunned for her fierce intelligence. The rejections from high school cliques has done nothing to dampen her quiet spirit and perpetual optimism. A burgeoning witch, she is also highly skilled with hacking into computers. She has had a crush on her best friend Xander Harris for years, but his eyes are for someone else. However Love has not forsaken this gentle beauty, in fact it comes---in the form of a beast...
Xander Harris. Witty, sarcastic, and a penchant for getting into trouble with teachers, Xander has the enviable position of having a witch and a slayer for best friends. Solid and loyal he is there for his friends no matter what. During Buffy's and Angel's courtship he voiced his disapproval loudly. Hate isn't an emotion he feels readily; although he disliked Angel, he positively loathes Angelus and his reason for being back. While he has had a crush on Buffy for over a year, a new love entered his life in the form of a beauty queen...
Oz. A youth of few words yet deep emotions. Bitten by a werewolf, he carries the call of the wild inside of him, daily learning the new path that he must travel. While he possesses a quiet yet cool exterior, he has become smitten with Willow. Although she carries an adolescent torch for Xander, he is quietly confident that she too will soon return his affections. The wolf inside of him is dangerous, but not to Willow---instead his nature poses a threat to the secrets that are being built all around them...
Cordelia Chase. Unapologetically shallow and thoughtless she is the stereotypical cheerleader and beauty queen. Yet even so, she has unwittingly found herself, through a series of coincidences and bad timing, in an alliance with Buffy and the Slayerettes. As inconvienent as that may be to her social life, Cordelia is beginning to learn many important life lessons, one of which is that love does not always follow the dictates of popularity. Growing as an individual will take time but the rewards are well worth it, especially those spent beside the one she loves, no matter how dorky she deems him...
Jenny Calendar. A computer science teacher and self-professed "techno-pagan" she has been of invaluable help to Buffy and Giles---professionally and personally. That is why her silent betrayal almost tore the strengthening bonds of loyalty apart. It was only after Angel lost his soul that the Sunnydale gang learned who Jenny indeed was. Her birth name is Janna, and she is the daughter of an old Romanian Gypsy tribe, the same tribe that cursed Angelus a century before. She was sent to monitor Angel and ensure that he would not find the happiness his heart desperately longed for. She failed but will ceaselessly work to right her wrongs and find a way back into the heart of Giles...
Joyce Summers. An art buyer and divorcee, she is Buffy's mother. Along with the natural distance that occurs between mother and daughter, she has no idea that her "little girl" is the Slayer. Originally moving out of L.A. to keep Buffy out of trouble, she does not know that not only was the past trouble directly related to slaying, she had just placed her daughter on the Hellmouth, a.k.a. Sunnydale. Her presence does not interfere with Buffy's calling because of frequent out of town trips, and in fact, unwittingly aids Angelus in his conquest of her daughter. Eventually the mask is torn off, leaving Joyce heartbroken in the aftermath...
Spike and Druscilla. Druscilla was one of his Angelus' strongest obsessions in the 19th century. After killing off her family he violently destroyed her humanity the night she was to take her orders as a nun. Instead of becoming a bride of Christ she became his insane consort. After tiring of her, Angelus freed her to find her own mate. She found Spike. Spike, a.k.a. William the Bloody, was given the dark gift of immortality one night in London late in the 19th century. Completely in love with Druscilla he became her champion and tarnished knight, taking care of all her desires and needing her despite the madness of her mind. Broken by the Slayer, Spike has been confined to a wheelchair, this time leaving Druscilla to nurture him. Their unconventional love has only one blight: Angelus. Upon his return Angelus has taken over the vampire clan, ousting Spike from his position and ridiculing him for his physical weakness. But to further Spike's pain, his grand-sire has also claimed carnal rights over Druscilla and Spike has no choice but to watch and wait. His time will not be spent in vain for temporarily weak he may be, his mind is as cunning as ever. Spike has no intention of allowing his glorious plans of revenge against Buffy and Angelus to be anything but successful...