Twilight Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Twilight follows Bella Swan, a seventeen-year-old who moves to the rainy town of Forks, Washington, and falls in love with mysterious classmate Edward Cullen. He is a vampire, and although his family only feeds on animals, their love puts Bella in danger when a vicious tracker decides to hunt her.
It is the first book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Bella Swan | New girl in Forks, the narrator |
| Edward Cullen | Vampire who falls for Bella |
| Charlie Swan | Bella's father, the police chief |
| Carlisle and Esme Cullen | Edward's adoptive parents |
| Alice Cullen | Vampire who sees possible futures |
| Jacob Black | Bella's friend from the Quileute reservation |
| James | Tracker vampire who hunts Bella |
| Victoria and Laurent | James's companions |
How do Bella and Edward meet?
Bella leaves sunny Phoenix to live with her father Charlie. In biology class, Edward Cullen seems disgusted by her and avoids her. Then, when a van skids toward her in the school parking lot, he crosses the lot in an instant and stops it with his hand. He refuses to explain.
↑ Back to the topHow does Bella learn Edward's secret?
At the beach, Jacob Black tells Bella an old tribal legend about the Cullens being cold ones, the enemies of his people's wolf ancestors. When Edward rescues her from a gang of men in Port Angeles, she tells him she knows he is a vampire. He admits it: he can read minds, except hers, and her scent tempts him more than anyone's. In a sunlit meadow he shows her how his skin sparkles. They fall in love.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens with Edward's family?
Edward introduces Bella to the Cullens, who drink animal blood and see themselves as a family. They take her to watch a game of baseball played during a thunderstorm. Three nomadic vampires, James, Victoria and Laurent, arrive. James, a tracker, smells Bella's human scent and decides to hunt her for sport.
↑ Back to the topHow does James hunt Bella?
Alice and Jasper take Bella to Phoenix to hide, while the others try to throw James off the trail. James calls Bella and claims he has her mother. She slips away to meet him at her old ballet studio, where she learns the voice was only a recording. James attacks her, breaks her leg and bites her wrist. Edward and his family arrive and destroy James. The venom is spreading, and Edward sucks it out, finding the strength to stop.
↑ Back to the topHow does Twilight end?
Bella wakes in a hospital, where the story is that she fell down stairs. Back in Forks, Edward takes her to the prom. She asks him to make her a vampire so they can be together forever, but he refuses to take away her life. Meanwhile Victoria, angry about James, watches from a distance, setting up the next book.
↑ Back to the topMore about Twilight
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.