The Burning — Nancy Holder; Jeff Mariotte

It's summertime in Sunnydale, and Salma de la Navidad, a friend of Buffy's from Sunnydale High, needs help. She and her family immigrated to America, and now she fears her brother, in an attempt to gain social acceptance, has stumbled into supernatural gang warfare. To make matters worse, an unknown creature has been doing a little night stalking. Buffy is certain that this new demonic presence has its roots in L.A. -- Angel's turf. So with the help of the Slayerettes, she heads off to battle demons -- both actual and personal.

Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, Cordelia stumbles upon a vampire-worshiping cult of runaways as Angel investigates an invisible presence wreaking havoc in the local prisons.

Now Buffy and pals must deal with identity crises of their own. Buffy may be the Chosen One, but she is, ultimately, expendable. Angel is unique, yet his particular status isolates him from humanity and monsters alike. So while all wonder -- do I make a difference? -- the humans and demons who surround them answer that question in astonishing ways...