New York's favourite rogue detective, Joe Pitt, is about to find himself caught in a nasty power struggle between competing Vampyre clans. Down to his last few bags of blood and behind on rent, Joe takes on a decidedly dirty job: finding the source of a powerful drug that's hit the street, one strong enough to affect Vampyres and make its users do unpredictable things, things that could bring unwelcome exposure to New York's Vampyre community. Unfortunately, that entails crossing the mid-Manhattan turf of the Coalition into the equally fearsome territory of the Hood in Harlem. One thing about Vampyres: they have plenty of time on their bloodstained hands to engage in complex, violent feuds. Worse, Joe might be some powerful player's idea of a sacrificial pawn ...