This volume chronicles the Cruciamentum - the ordeal each Slayer must undergo when she turns 18. Designed to test her innermost resources and prove that she has the courage and the steadfastness to take on the role of the Slayer to the full, the Cruciamentum is a life-or-death struggle, administered under the guidance of the Watchers Council.

The Slayer is deprived - without her prior knowledge - of her supernatural strength, and pitted against a deadly foe with only her wits and her self-reliance to save her.

Buffy's own test, against the psychotic vampire Kralik, enthralled viewers in the TV episode Helpless. Now Tales of the Slayer Volume Four reveals how Slayers through the ages have had to call on all their reserves of imagination and resourcefulness to survive their time of trial.