Bonnie has weird dreams with four coffins. Jeremy hangs around with Tyler and invites him in his house. Stephan meets Bonnie and asks her to hide the coffins of Klaus's family. Klaus tries to force Damon and Elena to seek out Stephan and compels Jeremy to stand up in front of a pick-up driven by a hybrid in high speed without his ring; however Alaric saves him but has difficulties to recover. Jeremy kills the hybrid and he takes Alaric to the hospital with Elena. Damon meets Stephan and he tells that he saved Klaus to save Damon's life. Then Damon asks to participate in Stephan's plan against Klaus. Stephan accepts provided Elena does not know the plan. Elena makes a deal with Klaus and delivers Rebekah to him. Then she asks Damon to compel his brother to leave Mystic Falls.

Bonnie tries to open the coffin and overhears something, but Damon and Stephan arrive in the house and Damon kills the hybrid. Elena and Bonnie are preparing a birthday party for Caroline at school and Jeremy says goodbye for them. Tyler meets Caroline to tell that he would never hurt her since he loves her, but Klaus controls him. Stephan threatens Klaus and asks him to send his hybrids out of Mystic Falls and beheads one hybrid in front of Klaus to prove that he is not kidding. Klaus summons Tyler and compels him to bite Caroline, but Tyler reacts telling that he will not hurt Caroline. When Caroline arrives home, Elena, Bonnie and Matt are waiting for her; however they go to a tomb to celebrate her funeral instead. Out of the blue, Tyler appears and bites Caroline on the neck. Damon and Alaric go to a counsel meeting to raise fund to rebuild a bridge and Damon meets Klaus that tells that Stephan must stop beheading his hybrids. Meanwhile Alaric flirts with Dr. Meredith Fell and protects her against her ex-boyfriend and coroner Dr. Brian Walters. Damon unsuccessfully tries to stop Stephan from killing hybrids. Stephan abducts Elena, calls Klaus, gives her blood to her and promises to kill her, driving his car in high-speed. Klaus agrees to send the hybrids away. Klaus goes to Caroline's home and gives his blood to Caroline and saves her. Damon brings Elena home and on the next morning Jeremy travels to Denver. Alaric meets Dr. Fell while Sheriff Forbes finds Brian murdered.

Prophetic dreams about the mysterious fourth coffin lead Bonnie and Elena to a surprising source, while Tyler seeks help to break free from Klaus' bond so he can be with Caroline. Alaric's new friend Dr. Fell has a secret no one sees coming, and Stefan's interference in Elena's life reveals something that surprises even him.

Now Klaus has Elijah back, they host a dinner party to negotiate a future with the Salvatore brothers, who actually procrastinate. Meanwhile combined witchcraft finally opens the mystery coffin, from which a scary surprise guest is released, but both families will be shocked. Alaric has been wounded dangerously by lover Dr. Fell, who happens to be supernatural, which makes saving him problematic, but Elena steps up. Caroline's father Bill Forbes refuses to survive his vampire bite by allowing Caroline to turn him into one like her.

After starting her day with a startling discovery of Damons' latest indiscretion, Elena is frustrated to find that none of her friends agree with her on how they should react to the Original family's internal power struggle. Once again caught up in the destiny of the Bennett witches, Bonnie and Abby find themselves playing a part in a ritual to appease the spirits of nature. When Elijah gives Damon and Stefan a dangerous ultimatum that puts Elena in danger, they turn to Alaric and Meredith for help with a plan that leads them to a terrible choice.

The present-day murders in Mystic Falls remind Damon of a similar crime spree a century earlier. Flashing back to 1912, Damon recalls a beautiful vampire.

Stefan still struggles desperately to get his blood-lust back under control. Damon keeps an eye on him, but has other priorities. Damon's former teacher Sage returns as his lover, in a secret pact against Rebekah, whom he seduces to keep an eye on her quest for the original white oak's sole known shoot. The old vampires are actually in league and torch the bridge made from its wood, fearing the weapon that could be made from it, but Damon stayed a step ahead. Dr. Fell tries to treat Alaric medically while Bonnie attempts to undo the curse which caused his hereditary madness, but they aren't careful enough, so Damon must intervene. Jeremy calls home from Denver, reporting that he only suffers from melancholy, but is doing well at school.

The 1920s Decade Dance takes a deadly turn when Damon and Stefan realize they need the help of Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie to undo a spell that could be devastating for everyone.

Determined to protect his sister, Jeremy makes a decision that will change everything; Bonnie makes a secret deal that has heartbreaking consequences.

In the fourth season premiere, Elena awakens after the accident to find the thing she dreaded most has come true. Damon is furious with Stefan, and takes out his rage on Matt.

Elena learns confronting Rebekah (CLAIRE HOLT) can be dangerous. Tyler gets a surprise visit from Hayley (PHOEBE TONKIN - The Secret Circle), a werewolf who helped him with Klaus.

Damon and Rebekah (CLAIRE HOLT) learn an unexpected bit of recent history from Vaughn (CHARLIE BEWLEY). Bonnie reveals the rest of Shane's (DAVID ALPAY) plan.