I knew without doubt that if any more of the vampires tried to attack us I''d kill them, too, regardless of apparent age, race, sex, or religious affiliations. I was an equal-opportunity executioner; I killed everybody.

My name is Anita Blake and I am a vampire hunter and necromancer, as well as a US Marshal. So when a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it''s up to me to find her.

And when I do, I''m faced with something I''ve never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people - kids, grandparents, soccer moms - all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving their vampire master. And where there''s one martyr, I know there will be more...

But even vampires have monsters that they''re afraid of. And I''m one of them...