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The story takes place "at least a year and a half" after the events of "Chosen", placing it at its earliest in the latter half of 2004 and after the events of "Not Fade Away". Buffy and Xander now lead command-central, which is situated at a citadel in Scotland. At their disposal are a wide array of psychics, seers, witches, and Slayers, along with a vast amount of technology. There are 1,800 Slayers worldwide according to Buffy, almost 500 of whom are working with the Scoobies, separated into 10 squads. Squads include Andrew's in Southern Italy, Giles' in England, Vi's in New York, Robin's in Cleveland, Ohio and another led by Rona in another U.S. state. For Buffy's protection and because her name is feared worldwide, two decoys are put in place: one partying in Rome and one on a mission in demonic underground caverns.
In the wake of Sunnydale's destruction, elements within the U.S. government view them as an army akin to terrorist cells and characterize Buffy as a "charismatic, uncompromising and completely destructive" leader. General Voll, a member of a mystically aware Initiative-like government project, describes fear of their resources, power, and ideology. The government has teamed with Sunnydale survivor/powerful witch Amy Madison and Season 6 villain Warren Mears. Simultaneously, an evil British socialite Slayer called Lady Genevieve Savidge plots to usurp Buffy's place in the Slayer hierarchy, and a shrewd cabal of Japanese vampires scheme to reverse the global activation of Potential Slayers in "Chosen". The appearances of these villains so far appear connected to "Twilight", the enigmatic Big Bad of the season, a masked person who plans to destroy all of the Slayers and bring an end to the era of magic.
A subplot involves the repercussions of Dawn's college relationship with a boy named Kenny (described as a "thricewise"), whom she cheated on, losing her virginity to his roommate. Consequently, Dawn has been cursed with mystical transformations: first into a giant and later a centaur; her friends are unable to reverse them. Among the core group, Buffy is for a time romantically drawn to a female Slayer named Satsu, and Xander to Slayer Renée; Willow's relationship with the core group is more estranged, while she protectively withholds Kennedy from her friends. Giles and Buffy, at odds, have momentarily fallen from speaking terms with one another. Giles now works with Faith, in trying to prevent more Slayers from going rogue.
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