St. Louis' future hangs in the balance when master vampires Alejandro and Jean-Claude pit their dark forces against each other in a battle for control of the city's vampires! Only Anita Blake holds the key to turning the tide of this war, but can either vampire leader be trusted not to make her a slave of desire? And that's just her day job. Anita gets back in the game when she agrees to a date with science teacher Richard Zeeman, but this seemingly normal hunk is conspicuously cool with the dangers of Anita's profession and the horrific exploits of her associates like Jean-Claude. Will sparks fly, or is this regular guy too good to be true?