Rachel is a night shift coroner in Toronto. Etienne is a vampire who has been shot by a "sick minded" person and is assumed dead. He is brought into the morgue where Rachel is suffering the flu. She proceeds to begin preparations for the body and removes the bullet from his heart. Etienne begins to heal. Because she is feverish he gets Rachel to believe that she is hallucinating and then she passes out. 
 A week later, Rachel is back to work having recovered from the flu when Etienne is once again brought into the morgue presumed dead from a car explosion also caused by the mental guy. Etienne begins to heal and Rachel notices that he may have a heartbeat. When she listens for it Pudge (mental dude) comes into the morgue screaming for her to move that Etienne is a vampire. He brings up an axe to chop off Etienne's head and Rachel steps into his path taking the mortal blow. Pudge apologizes and runs away. 
 Etienne's family shows up because they were headed there to save him from the car explosion. They figure there is no saving Rachel. Etienne can't let that happen since she has now saved his life twice. Even though he is only permitted to change one person and that should be his life mate, he changes Rachel.