What happens to a plant at first frost?
Light frost burns the edges of leaves and damages frost-tender species, wilting them beyond repair. This is why people tell you to put your plants inside so the cold does not bother your plants. Hard frost on the other hand is the fatal kind. Hard frost freezes stem and leaf tissue, killing the top growth of hardier plants. So a hard frost will kill even the plants that are supposed to be able to hold more weather than other plants. Frost also usually brings the end of the gardening season.
