Ethan Rayne's efforts to reopen the Sunnydale Hellmouth have failed, but the town of Moonridge still faces threats both old and new. Meanwhile, Buffy must struggle with perhaps the most difficult task she has ever faced: accepting that she is no longer a slayer and that she may no longer be able to meaningfully help fight in the eternal war between good and evil.

Nearly eighteen years after the destruction of Sunnydale, Buffy Summers has settled into a new life and made peace with her past. When she discovers that enemies both old and new are massing for a nefarious purpose, she and her loved ones find themselves struggling not only against the rising evil, but also with the question of whether they should step away while they still can.