Plagued by the isolation of everyone she loves, Taylor Salvatore is cast out from her house at the age of 15. Now at the age of 16 and living on the streets, Taylor is attacked by an otherworldly creature and is introduced to the world that her father never wanted her to live. She's left behind until Alaric Saltzman takes her to the Salvatore Boarding School for the Gifted and Talented where she learns how to deal with grief and her new senses.