Faith returns to Sunnydale just as a new villain, Caleb, arrives and sends Buffy a message in the form of a badly beaten Potential. Buffy leads the rest of the girls to Caleb and The First's lair, with devastating consequences.

After being ousted from the group, Buffy tries to figure out how to move forward. Faith and the Potentials plan to interrogate a Bringer for information on Caleb and the First. Many people turn to each other for comfort in the face of the impending apocalypse.

Buffy has a powerful new weapon, but the gang cannot find any information about the origins of the mysterious scythe. Eventually the Slayer goes herself in search of knowledge, and finds a new ally, an old friend, and great danger.