On her 18th birthday, Bella Swan is living a seemingly idyllic life in the town of Forks with her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. However, an accident during her birthday celebration at the Cullen house, which nearly results in Bella's blood being shed, leads Edward to a grave realization. Fearing for her safety, Edward decides that Bella's life will be better without him or his kind in it. He, along with his family, abruptly leaves Forks, plunging Bella into a deep depression. Bereft of Edward's presence, she drifts through her days, finding solace only in her growing friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion from her past.

As Bella's relationship with Jacob deepens, she is drawn into the world of the supernatural in a way she never expected. Unbeknownst to Bella, Jacob harbors a secret that poses a new complication in her already tumultuous life. Through her pain, Bella discovers that she experiences vivid hallucinations of Edward whenever she puts herself in danger. Desperate for any remnant of Edward, she increasingly takes risks to glimpse him again, despite the potential consequences. Meanwhile, Jacob struggles with his own inner turmoil, and a series of mysterious occurrences in Forks signals that Bella's life may still be entwined with the supernatural, despite her lover's absence.