Caroline has been a ward of the Venatores lamiae (vampire hunters) ever since a vampire brutally murdered her parents in front of her as a toddler. On vacation with David, her best friend and secret crush, Caroline gets separated from her friends. All alone, she's overpowered and kidnapped by a vampire to serve as a gift to his master.
Terrified at first that her fate will be the same as her parents, Caroline slowly comes to realize not all vampires are as deadly as Venatores have taught her. The master is genteel and kind. Despite his great power, he lets her speak freely and teaches her about the secret pact between their peoples.
Caroline learns to question the hate that has fueled her all her life, but, also discovers that David has been taken. Not protected by Nicholas, he's been tortured by the same vampire that took her, the master's own brother. For her, there is no choice. David is her brother and her best friend. She offers herself freely. No longer as a prisoner, but a willing student of the master, she faces the Venatores when they invade the master's lair.
Her love for her people makes her a willing sacrifice to save them all. But, her growing affection for Nicholas, Master of the City, gives her the strength to face her own unique power. She must make a choice between the lives she is offered. Now, with growing faith in her own abilities and the ardour of a master vampire, the choice she makes will be her own.