Dexter Morgan isn't exactly the kind of man you'd bring home to mother. At heart, he's the perfect gentleman: he has a shy girlfriend and seems to lead a quiet, normal life bordering on mundane. Despite the fact that he can't stand the sight of blood and works as a blood-spatter analyst for the Miami police.

But Dexter also has a secret: he is an accomplished serial killer. So far, he's killed 36 people and has never been caught because he knows exactly how to hide the evidence. And while that may lead some people to assume he's not such a nice guy, he tempers his insatiable hunger for brutality by only killing the bad guys.

However, Dexter's well-organised life is suddenly disrupted when a second, much more visible serial killer appears in Miami. Intrigued that the other killer favours a style similar to his own, Dexter soon realises that the mysterious new arrival is not simply invading his turf but offering him a direct invitation to 'come-out-and-play'...