Isabella Swan, the narrator, lives in Forks with her father. She’s a high school senior, and her boyfriend is Edward, who happens to be a vampire. Smart and perceptive, Bella is also pretty and a nice person, if somewhat alienated from others. She tends to underestimate herself, and she’s also clumsy, which nearly gets her killed at the Cullen house when she cuts her finger, and Jasper lunges at her.

Bella’s love for Edward gives her a sense of purpose and completion, something she’s never felt before. When he breaks up with her, thinking this will protect her, she falls into a deep depression, takes foolish risks, and nearly dies. She is the main protagonist; with the second protagonist Edward, she must struggle with the agony of separation before they can fully appreciate what they mean to one another.

Tall, handsome, and pale-skinned, with red-brown hair and eyes that change from black to dark golden, Edward Cullen is a vampire in a coven that hunts not humans but animals for their blood. Though young-looking, he’s nearly 100 years old. He falls hard for Bella, and she for him, but he also feels an intense desire to kill her for her blood, a yearning he learns to control.