In a future world recovering from a war that reduced the population by billions, some have learned better than others how to get along. Some of those are vampires. But living as a vampire comes at a price. While Andrej plays games with criminals to amuse himself, he doesn't count on his human assistant Anne-Marie becoming a pawn. After she is nearly killed by the crime syndicate Andrej has been toying with, he decides the game has gone too far. They leave New York, and hopefully the thugs behind, but their new-found peace is short-lived. It seems they've been tracked to Prague, and Andrej himself is now the target. What the syndicate doesn't realize is that the man they put in charge of killing Andrej is an old vampire friend of Andrej's. Neko's life as an underworld thug proves quite useful. Andrej has a strict rule of not feeding on his assistants, not by him, and not by other vampires. Neko tries to observe this edict, but his obsession with Anne-Marie grows, especially when he escorts Anne-Marie out of Prague for a few days while Andrej takes on the would-be assassins, putting Andrej's and his friendship to the test, and he begins to acknowledge his own growing feelings of affection for Anne-Marie. All that pales in comparison to what else is to come. Andrej's creator punishes him for disobedience, and reminds him of the cost of eternal life: someone else's death. As his carefully crafted lifestyle continues to slip through his grasp, the only option seems riskier than even Neko has the stomach for.