Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide include graphic descriptions of blood, violence, the deaths of family members, self-harm, violence against animals, sexist rhetoric, attempted sexual assault, and bias against sex workers. Additionally, the source text includes implicit elements of anti-gay bias and describes a romantic relationship between an adult and a minor.

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hathaway is a dhampir (half human, half vampire), and has a psychic connection to her best friend, Vasilisa Dragomir (known as Lissa), who is a Moroi, or full-blooded vampire. Now, Rose senses that Lissa is having a recurring nightmare, so she wakes her friend and soothes her, aided by their housemate’s cat, Oscar. Rose notes that cats dislike dhampir but have a great deal of affection for Moroi. Seeing that Lissa is weak from a lack of blood, Rose scolds her and says that Lissa should have asked to feed from her sooner. Lissa bites Rose’s neck, triggering the characteristic rush of pleasure that comes from a vampire’s bite.

Afterward, Rose follows Oscar’s gaze to the window and sees that a man is watching them from the street. She worries that the man witnessed the vampirism, but when Oscar hisses at him, she deduces that he must be a dhampir like her.