After a sizzling summer with Damon, Elena leaves Mystic Falls and moves into a dorm with her roomie Caroline, ready for new adventures and new friends. But dark thoughts gnaw at Elena, and soon familiar faces are back in the girls' lives. There's Stefan with his shadow self Silas, plus Katherine, with a diabolical agenda and a jaw-dropping transformation. As the Doppelgangers test destiny, tearing lovers apart and pitting the Salvatore brothers against each other, the student body count rises, evidence of powerful forces on campus.