Nicholas Hughes has broken a rule. The rule. But that might be the least of his worries. Expulsion from a program for mystical anthropology and arcane semiotics is probably nothing compared to a premature and violent death. On the other hand, the only person who is offering to help is a stranger he just met, and David Cruz comes with his own set of a curse of lineage that lurks in the blood. The island transplant is diligently working at keeping his head down, but all it ever takes is one bad night, one wrong decision, and things fall apart. Just ask Jarvis, who's been a vampire since America's first sin, and everything he knows he's learned from watching people from the shadows over the centuries. A simple act can open a door that's impossible to close. But that's how it is in Charm City, where there's secrets in the water and it's never sunny enough to banish the darkness completely.