In 1641, Baron Gideon Redoak takes on adult responsibilities at the age of nineteen, following his fathers murder. As the countryside around his estate is terrorized by mysterious deaths, Gideon welcomes an offer of assistance from a charismatic stranger, Etienne Corbeau. But Corbeau has far more sinister objectives when he seduces young Gideon and then kills him. Gideon awakens as a vampire, and the agony of his death is merely the beginning of the hell on earth that Corbeau plans for him. Gideon eventually escapes Corbeau, and only then does he learn the breadth and variety of the shadowy supernatural underworld to which he now belongs. As the decades pass, Gideon and those he loves face hard choices and shattering changes. But despite the loyalty and support of his friends, Gideon knows that his final confrontation with Corbeau is inevitable. Even with magics aid, Gideon has no idea whether he can survive that confrontationand what it will cost him.