In the small town of Gatlin, S.C., teenage Ethan Wate sees his static world shaken by the arrival of Lena Duchannes, the niece of town patriarch Macon Ravenwood. Immediately, Ethan feels drawn to Lena, even though destruction seems to surround her, and she has supernatural powers that are beyond her control. Worse still, a curse looms for Lena at the approach of her 16th birthday -- a time when the forces of either light or dark will claim her.