High school senior Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson) attends Hemery High School in Los Angeles, California; her main concerns are shopping and spending time with her rich, snooty friends and her boyfriend, Jeffrey (Randall Batinkoff). While at school one day, she is approached by a man who calls himself Minor characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer#Merrick (Donald Sutherland). He informs her that she is Slayer (Buffyverse), or Chosen One, destined to kill vampires, and he is a Watcher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) whose duty it is to guide and train her. She initially rejects his claim but is convinced that he's right when he's able to describe a recurring dream of hers in detail. In addition, Buffy is exhibiting uncanny abilities not known to her, including heightened agility, senses, and endurance, yet she repeatedly tries Merrick's patience with her frivolous nature, indifference to slaying, and sharp-tongued remarks.