Aticus, a diseased lycanthrope, returns to Louisiana where 170 years ago a conflict with a plantation owner made him lose his eye and his soul mate. He is back with a vengeance. His twisted vision of dominance has him infecting the small town of Royal Bay and surrounding parishes, amassing an army of werewolves, to get revenge on humankind. A group of survivors including another lycanthrope, a reporter, police officers and a werewolf hunter all must survive the night the moon travels closest to Earth, where with Aticus help the first great werewolf returns to flesh and infects the world.