The Awakening
Elena Gilbert is the most beautiful and popular girl in the whole of Robert E. Lee High School. She is driven by a desire to be best at everything, and takes an interest in a handsome new student named Stefan Salvatore, who repeatedly avoids her.
Stefan eventually rescues Elena from Tyler Smallwood on the night of the Homecoming Dance. Afterward, the two gradually bond, leading him to reciprocate her affections. As the pair fall in love, their town of Fell's Church is being terrorised by inexplicable, horrifying 'animal attacks', with Stefan becoming a suspect.
When Elena tries to confront Stefan, she discovers his terrible secret. Stefan is a vampire, born in the Italian Renaissance during the late fifteenth century. But Stefan isn't the one who has been committing the murders; the perpetrator is Stefan's diabolical brother, Damon Salvatore, who lives to wreak havoc and distribute misery on Stefan's life. The two brothers were turned vampire by the coquettish German Lady Katherine von Swartzchild, whom they both loved. Katherine was sent to stay with Stefan and Damon's family to recover from an 'illness'. When Stefan and Damon had an argument over Katherine and asked her to choose between them she got upset and ran off. The next morning her dress was found with a pile of ashes and her ring under a tree. The two brothers had a fight to the death, in which they both killed each other. They wake up days later inside their tomb. The reason why Stefan initially avoided Elena was because Elena is a doppleganger of Katherine. For this same reason, Damon also chooses to pursue Elena, following her around in the magical disguise of a crow and he invades her dreams. Despite the duress, Elena rejects Damon's advances and remains stoically loyal to Stefan.
Elena's rejection angers Damon. In a fit of rage, he provokes Stefan to fight.
In the aftermath, Stefan disappears. The townspeople of Fell's Church believe Stefan's disappearance cements the truth that Stefan is behind the attacks. However, Elena's sure she doesn't know what had really happened. She thinks Damon is responsible for Stefan's disappearance, and she knows Stefan is in grave danger.
The Struggle
Picking up where The Awakening left off, Elena confronts Damon about Stefan's disappearance. But when Elena stands firm on her rejection of Damon's romantic advances, Damon refuses to help find Stefan. Elena must turn to her best friends, Bonnie McCullough and Meredith Sulez. Bonnie, who is believed to have psychic powers, uses magic to track down Stefan. The girls discover Stefan trapped in the bottom of a well, close to death. After Stefan's rescue, Elena offers him her blood to recover.
Because of the belief that he perpetrated the horrific 'animal' attacks, Stefan still faces hostility in the town. And as the town's monumental anniversary,'Founder's Day' approaches, Elena reaches her breaking point.
Elena's adversary, Caroline Forbes, has stolen Elena's diary. Elena confesses all her secrets to her diary, and its contents can be read as evidence that Stefan is a violent criminal. Worried about Stefan's mental and physical well-being, Elena enlists the help of her friends to retrieve the diary. Bonnie, Meredith and Elena try to break into Caroline's house to find the diary but no success. In a mad attempt to escape,she discovers Damon lurking in the shadows of the Forbes house. Damon offers to help Elena's cause - if Elena gives him blood in return. Elena refuses.
Damon gives her a terrifying ultimatum, choosing between Damon bleeding Elena, or her baby sister, Margaret, Elena sacrifices herself. Damon compels Elena into a blood exchange.
Soon after, Elena tells Stefan about the diary. Stefan tells Elena that even if Caroline reveals the contents of Elena's diary to the whole town, because of his love for Elena, Stefan will stay. On Founder's Day, Elena and her friends try their best to steal Elena's diary, but their attempts are futile. However, when Caroline tries to read the diary, it is discovered that the diaries have been switched by Damon.
Damon smugly accepts Elena's thanks, but his satisfaction quickly turns to anger when he hears about Elena's engagement. Frustrated by their reactions, Elena storms off.
Elena angrily drives to Stefan's residence. But when she finally gets there, Stefan isn't home, and there is something malevolent about the weather. It is vicious and brutal, and it wants Elena dead...She feels there is something lurking in the dark. She jumps into the car and tries to cross running water, as she thinks this will keep her safe. The bridge then breaks and she drives into the water. She then drowns in the car and becomes a vampire.
The Fury
This book begins with the newly "turned" Elena watching Damon and Stefan engaged in a fight to the death. Initially she does not recognize the brothers due to her confused state, having recently died and risen as a Vampire, but soon a flicker of memory causes her to realize the one she loves is hurt and needs her help.
The reader is led to believe she is referring to Stefan.But instead Elena attacks him, and fully intends to kill him for hurting Damon. Stefan, upon recognizing Elena, doesn't fight back and allows her to bite him. Damon eventually commands her to stop and takes her in search of human blood. Stefan intervenes,not wanting Elena to kill someone, and instead makes her drink Matt's blood.
Afterwards Damon hides her in Alaric Saltzman's attic and once she has rested, her disorientation begins to lift. Elena is deeply upset about the way she attacked Stefan.While wandering, trying to process all the new information, Elena stumbles upon her own memorial service where Stefan and Damon find her. Stefan is relieved when Elena remembers their love and Damon is enraged, but the three are distracted by the strange behaviour of a large pack of the towns pet dogs who are attacking their owners.
More strange events lead the three vampires, with the help of Bonnie, Meredith, Matt and Alaric, to conclude that the same Power which forced Elena off of the bridge is still stalking the town. It transpires that Katherine, the vampire who turned Damon and Stefan, faked her own death 500 years before in a vain attempt to bring the brothers closer. Her plan failed, and the brothers, killed each other and they rose as Vampires. Katherine was infuriated by the brother's continuing feud, so she fled to Klaus, the one who had turned her into a vampire on her death bed. Under his teaching, Katherine became more powerful and quite unstable.
She eventually has Damon, Stefan and Elena tied up in an underground crypt where she plans to torture and dispose of them all. Elena manages to free herself, forcing Katherine into a shaft of sunlight and tearing off her protective lapis lazuli necklace. Elena is badly burned herself as Katherine had already removed the protective ring from Elena's hand. Stefan pulls Elena back into the shadows but it is too late; Elena has died in Stefan's arms after she made him promise to take good care of Damon.
