The premise of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels centers around an alternate reality where the U.S. government has declared the undead as legal beings so that vampires, zombies and werewolves can come out of the shadows as they attempt to co-exist with human society. But there are times when these creatures get out of control, and that is when Anita Blake steps in. Armed to the teeth with specialized weaponry and blessed with the abilities of an "Animator" (a special occupation that involves raising the dead), Anita is a threat to any vampire who gets out of line. But even she is unnerved when a vampire shows up in her office wanting her to help solve a case involving the murder of his fanged brethren. And as Anita descends into the fantastic and strange undead underworld of St. Louis, she finds herself caught in a rapidly unraveling mystery that may claim her own life in the end. Anita Blake has faced great horrors in her career as a vampire hunter and an animator of the undead, but being left in a dungeon with an army of were-rats is hardly her idea of a good time. Fortunately, she is able to escape when her vampire hosts intercede, but her good luck seems short-lived when she is brought before Nikolaos, the master vampire of St. Louis. What Nikolaos wants is unclear, but one thing is certain - even an experienced vampire hunter like Anita cannot stand against a being as powerful as this! But can she survive the night?