Bill Compton's allure is diminished somewhat when Sookie visits him in his home and finds that several other rather nasty vampires has also dropped in for a visit. Bill protects her from his one-time friends but she sees a nasty side of vampire life. Dawn Green spends the night with Sookie's brother Jason but she kicks him out after an argument. She is found strangled later that day. Tara walks out on her alcoholic mother and spends the night with her employer, bar owner Sam Merlotte.

In order to save Sookie from Malcolm, Diane and Liam, who are about to feed on her, Bill claims Sookie as his human, declaring "Sookie is mine". With Sookie safe, for the time being at least, Malcolm offers to let Bill feed on Jerry, a young human the trio carry around with them as a toy. Bill is about to feed, but Sookie looks into Jerry's mind and sees that he has Hepatitis D, an infection that only infects vampires. Now robbed at his chance at revenge for the loss of his boyfriend to vampire blood addiction, Jerry attacks Sookie but Bill stops him and knocks him out. Diane wants to know how Sookie knew about Jerry's intentions, but Bill manages to get the group out the door before they can ask any more questions. The incident leaves Sookie shaken and with doubts about her relationship with Bill. At Merlotte's, Sam and Tara close up for the night and share a few drinks. They talk about being lonely and come to an arrangement, whereby they have sex just this one time. Dawn returns home and her little game with Jason quickly turns into more rough sex. However, knowing that Dawn has been with vampires causes Jason to lose his erection and the two have an argument about sex with vampires, which results in Dawn threatening Jason with a gun and throwing him out of her house, all of which is witnessed by Dawn's neighbor. Bill pays a visit to Malcolm, Diane and Liam and tells them to leave Sookie alone. They criticize him for his mainstreaming and suggest that the Great Revelation was not a good idea. Tara returns home and is attacked by her alcoholic mother Lettie Mae, who calls her a whore and scares Tara out of the house. She drops in on Lafayette, just as a state senator is leaving his "appointment" and asks for a place to stay. Sookie has a dream in which Bill takes her virginity and, after a discussion with Adele, decides that she should give Bill another chance. Jason goes to Lafayette's house to get some Viagra, but ends up with a vial of vampire blood, which Lafayette instructs him only to take one or two drops of at a time. To get it, Jason has to dance on camera for Lafayette's website and Tara gets a much appreciated view of Jason's performance. Sam asks Sookie to swing by Dawn's house as she did not show up for work. Sookie obliges and finds Dawn's dead body sprawled out on her bed.

Bill introduces Sookie to some of his vampire friends while Tara is still troubled by her family and tries to find comfort at LaFayette's.

Mack and Denise Rattray get their revenge on Sookie but Bill steps in to save her. Subsequently, Sookie's senses begin to undergo a transformation. She later learns that the Rattrays are dead and the police immediately suspect Bill. She also begins to wonder just how far vampires will go when a leading opponent of the Vampire Rights Act is killed in an accident. Bill agrees to visit Sookie and her grandmother and Tara and Jason invite themselves for the evening. Jason Stackhouse gets to see the video of his evening with Maudette Pickens. The police release him but his experience doesn't dissuade him from sleeping with every woman who will have him.

The Rattrays are brutally beating Sookie as she bleeds on the ground. They are about to kill her when Bill suddenly intervenes. He kills both Rattrays and takes Sookie to the edge of a lake, where he offers her some of his vampire blood, which has special properties that allow her to completely heal instantly. Sookie asks him about being a guest speaker at her grandmother's next meeting and he agrees to that and to call in on her at her house the next evening to meet her family. Meanwhile, Jason is shown a videotape of him with Maudette and it turns out that Jason thought he had choked her to death during sex, but that she was only fooling around with him. Sheriff Dearborne and Detective Bellefleur aren't entirely convinced Jason didn't kill Maudette, but he is eventually released. Tara returns home from work to find her alcoholic mother passed out on the couch and she asks her flamboyant cousin Lafayette, who is also the Merlotte's cook, to take her to a party. He agrees. Jason meets up with an old flame and another Merlotte's waitress, Dawn and the two spend the night together. The next morning, he discovers vampire bite marks on her neck. Sookie learns that the police found the Rattrays' bodies in the wreckage of their trailer and have ruled that they were killed by a freak tornado. Sookie also notices throughout the day that her sense of smell and taste have been enhanced by Bill's blood. That night Bill meets with Adele, Jason and Tara at Sookie's house. He takes her for a starlit walk and they share their first kiss. The next day Dawn heads for work, leaving Jason tied up on her bed. At Merlotte's, Sookie learns that Reverend Theodore Newlin, founder of the anti-vampire church the Fellowship of the Sun, along with his wife and daughter were killed in an accident. Questioning just how far vampires are willing to go, she races to Bill's house to ask him about the incident where she is set upon by three strange vampires, including the bald-headed man seen in Maudette's sex tape.

After Sookie gets saved by Bill she suffers a lot of injuries and Bill tries to save her "the Vampire way". The next day her brother is released from police custody and the bodies of Sookie's attackers are found. Later that day Bill goes to visit Sookie's family and gets a not so friendly welcome.

In a society where humans and vampires co-exist, set in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, Sookie Stackhouse is a young woman who may have found a perfect boyfriend. Sookie is clairvoyant and constantly hears people's thoughts so it makes dating a bit difficult since she tries to keep her ability a secret. When 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton walks into the Merlotte's Bar & Grill where she works as a waitress, she realizes that she can't "hear" what he's thinking, thus giving away his origins since she can't hear the thoughts of those whom are technically dead. Vampires "came out of the coffin" two years ago when the Japanese invented Tru Blood, a synthetic blood substitute. Sookie rescues Bill when a couple of lowlife rednecks, the Rattrays, try to steal his blood to sell on the black market, but she may have a price to pay for interfering. Meanwhile, Sookie's older brother, Jason, is a smooth-talking hustler and Lothario who works part-time with a construction crew, and who gets arrested after a local woman that he had a one-night stand with is found strangled. Tara Thornton is Sookie's ill-tempered best friend whom finds her bad-boy brother irresistible. Sam Merlotte is the owner of Merlotte's Bar, who keeps his romantic feelings for Sookie to himself. Lafayette Reynolds is Tara's flamboyant gay cousin and the short-order cook at Merlotte's as well as Jason's co-worker at his construction day job who has more to offer than his gourmet foods. Arlene Fowler is a middle-aged divorcée and another of Sookie's friends and co-workers at Merlotte's looking for a new husband to help raise her two children. Andy Bellefleur is the local police detective working with the collaboration of the town sheriff, Bud Dearborn, whom thinks the town may have a killer in their mists as they investigate the strangulation case.

It has been two years since the invention of the synthetic plasma TruBlood that has allowed vampires to make their presence known to mankind. In the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, 25-year-old waitress Sookie Stackhouse struggles with being telepathic and not being able to control hearing the thoughts of everyone she sees. That is until 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton walks into Merlotte's bar where Sookie works. She is immediately drawn to him, and so are Mac and Denise Rattray, a couple of local thugs who later attack Bill with silver and try to drain his blood so that they can sell it on the black market. But Sookie rescues him and drives the Rattrays away, after which she learns that not only is Bill equally interested in her, but that she cannot read his thoughts as his brain is technically dead. Meanwhile, Sookie's hard-talking best friend Tara Thornton is fired from her job when she mouths off to her boss and a customer and Sam Merlotte hires her as the new bartender. Meanwhile, Sookie's brother Jason Stackhouse has a sexual interlude with a young woman named Maudette Pickens, who enjoys rough sex with vampires. She shows Jason a videotape of her with a bald-headed, tattooed vampire and later she videotapes them having rough sex. The next day, Jason is arrested by Sheriff Bud Dearborne and Detective Andy Bellefleur for murder of Maudette, who was killed the night before. Sookie's grandmother Adele asks if Sookie thinks she can get the vampire Bill to speak at her Descendants of the Glorious Dead meeting. And at Merlotte's that night, Bill agrees to meet her in the parking lot after work to discuss the favor. Sookie gets into a heated argument with Sam and Tara, who believe that getting involved with a vampire could be very dangerous and Sookie tells them both to stay out of her life. After work Sookie and Sam make amends with one another and alone in the parking lot, Sookie is suddenly and savagely attacked by the Rattrays, out for revenge.

Opening with two young adults driving down the road they see a sign selling Tru Blood. After a short confrontation with a vampire they take off. Next, Sookie Stackhouse,a waitress at a local Bar notices a vampire who walks in. After locking eyes with the vampire she confronts him asking his order. The vampire asks for Tru Blood but due to a lack of vampire activity there isn't any in stock. Soon Sookie runs out of the bar after the vampire and two people that lure the vampire outside. The two people are found draining the blood from the vampire. The blood is known to enhance the healing process in humans and give a bit of a sex boost. Sookie saves the vampire, who introduced himself as Bill.

A grave threat rears its head from a surprise source; Rick and Hershel work together to avoid a dire situation; and Dale has it out with Shane.

Glenn becomes the keeper of a pair of secrets; Andrea develops a new skill and is forced to rely on it during a life-or-death confrontation; Rick uncovers a secret about someone close to him

While searching the woods for clues, Daryl is seriously injured and set upon by walkers. Meanwhile, Rick second-guesses himself; and Glenn believes he's getting positive signals from Maggie, but then isn't so sure

Shane's deadly sacrifice leads to strange behavior, while the rest of the group contemplate the fine line between living and dying

The group await Shane's return, unaware that he's trapped in a school surrounded by zombies; Daryl and Andrea scour the woods for a missing person.

Rick possibly stumbles upon another safe spot while attempting to come to the aid of someone in danger. Meanwhile, Shane heads off on a mission for much-needed medical supplies.