New York City teenager Clary Fray (Lily Collins) begins seeing a strange symbol, worrying her mother Jocelyn Fray (Lena Headey) and her mother's friend Luke Garroway (Aidan Turner). Later, at a nightclub with her friend, Simon Lewis (Robert Sheehan), Clary is the only person who sees Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower) killing a man. Meanwhile, Jocelyn is abducted by two men, Emil Pangborn (Kevin Durand) and Samuel Blackwell (Robert Maillet), but she is able to call Clary and warn her about someone named Valentine. Jocelyn drinks a potion putting her in a comatose state. Returning home, Clary finds her mother missing and is then attacked by a demon. Jace appears and kills it. Jace explains that he and her mother Jocelyn are both Shadowhunters (also called Nephilim), warriors that slay demons and rule over the downworlders. Clary has inherited her powers, including the ability to use runes.