After a total eclipse casts its shadow across the globe, seemingly calling forth a multitude of everyday men and women with special powers, Dr. Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy, "Blind Guy Driving"), a genetics professor from India, continues to champion his father's theory that there are people with extraordinary abilities living among us. Claire Bennet, an indestructible high school cheerleader (Hayden Panettiere, "Bring it On: All or Nothing"), must hide her ability from her peers while working to maintain her relationship with her father (Jack Coleman, "Dynasty"), a man of mystery who has a keen interest in people like her. Niki Sanders, a Las Vegas single mother (Ali Larter, "Final Destination") with astonishing strength - and a dangerous, amoral mirror image (Jessica Sanders) - struggles to support and protect her young son Micah (Noah Gray-Cabey, "My Wife & Kids"), a genius who can interact with electronic machinery through touch. Matt Parkman, a police detective (Greg Grunberg, "Alias") from Los Angeles, attempts to put his ability to hear the thoughts of others to good use.

In Japan, Hiro Nakamura's (Masi Oka, NBC's "Scrubs") ability to pierce the space-time continuum and manipulate time has empowered him to change the future, as he embarks on wild adventures with his best friend Ando Masahashi (James Kyson Lee, "Shutter"). Nathan Petrelli, a congressional hopeful (Adrian Pasdar, "Judging Amy") with the ability to fly, has his dreams dashed after failing to stop his younger brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia, "Rocky Balboa"), a nurse with the ability to absorb the powers of others, from exploding over the New York City skyline. And after this violent clash in New York, the fate of Sylar, a manipulative serial killer (Zachary Quinto, "24") dedicated to violently collecting the extraordinary talents of special people, is unknown. Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, a young woman named Maya Herrera (Dania Ramirez, "The Sopranos") and her twin brother, plagued by her threatening ability, attempt to make the dangerous crossing to the United States in search of help. And Monica Dawson, another young woman (Dana Davis, "The Nine") with newfound special abilities, would give up everything to help the people around her. Their ultimate destiny is nothing less than saving the world...