While investigating the apparent suicide of a hermit, Detective Inspector Ed Moretti and his partner, Liz Falla, of the Guernsey Police have to deal with what seems to be an outbreak of vampirism. Can the threat be real? Or is it something possibly provoked by Hugo Shawcross, who is writing a play about vampires for a local theatre group, and who narrowly escapes becoming the first victim?<br><br>As the investigation unfolds, links begin to emerge between the hermit's death, the play in progress, and the tangled lives of one of the Channel Islands' most prestigious families. With the dubious help of island witches, and the distraction of his partner's seductive aunt, Moretti employs all his deductive skills to see where the truth lies. Is it to be found among the clues about vampirism and the living dead that present themselves? Or is it buried deep in the past among hidden motives of sex, love, and obsession? The pressure is on Moretti and Falla to uncover the real reason before the attacker strikes again.<br>