They are beautiful, powerful, and immortal. They are members of the Family, of the race of Vampires, and they have gathered at Castle Banat to discuss their fate. Some are committed to thei cruel, erotic, scarlet past. Others look to the future, hoping to evolve a new aristocracy of the spirit. But in this gothic netherworld of underground canals, arched chambers, and crumbling statuary, a murder has been discovered that cannot go unpunished even among the creatures of the night – a murder that pits the Family's most powerful members against each other in a titanic struggle for domination. Now it is up to one young vampire, Michel Beheim, to catch the killer – even as he discovers the unfathomable depths of darkness in his own immortal soul.

Sensual, lyrical, and stunningly original, Lucius Shepard’s novel has added a new – and terrifying – dimension to the timeless myth of the vampire.


Winner of the Locus Poll Award for Best Horror Novel.