When Wyn Gatteaux discovers the body of a human girl in his garden, his carefully ordered life begins to unravel. Vampyrs don't drink blood - that's only a human myth - but within hours, Detective Cerry Vanell, heir to a feared line of vampyr hunters, arrests Wyn's parents and leaves him trapped under guard.
Desperate and alone, Wyn attempts to send a message to his aunt in Worldunder, the hidden city beneath the streets where non-humans seek refuge. His plea for help goes unanswered. Worse still, the ghost of the dead girl, Sera, appears at his side, unable to stray far from him without being dragged back by an unseen force.
With a relentless teen assassin on his trail and time slipping away, Wyn must risk everything to free his family and sever his connection with Sera before the Vanell family do their worst.