Vampires have come out of the coffin and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seemsThe small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boasts a wide array of colourful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse (Academy Award winner Anna Paquin*), a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire whos just moved back to town; Sookies brother Jason, a ladies man who cant seem to stay out of trouble; tough-asnails Tara, Sookies loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlottes who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town whos always cooking up something illicit and off the menu and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of night in this series thats like no other. From Alan Ball, writer of the Oscar-winning Best Picture American Beauty and creator of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Six Feet UnderSM, comes the critically acclaimed world of True Blood. Welcome back to Bon Temps, home to mystery, Southern sensuality and dark secrets. For Sookie Stackhouse, life is more dangerous than ever after she and Bill become more deeply involved. Meanwhile, Tara finds herself in love and under a spell; Sam puts his trust in an unlikely ally; Jason becomes involved with an anti-vampire sect; Eric recruits Sookie to investigate the disappearance of a 2,000-year-old vampire; and Maryann is revealed to possess a power that can control almost everyone in town. Then, after making a shocking discovery, Sookie, Bill, and Sam must form the last line of defense against a diabolical plan that raises this award-winning series to bloody new heights.