Elena survives an arson attack that claims her noble hunter parents, only to be forced into indentured servitude by the tyrannical usurper who stole her family estate. To escape an abusive arranged marriage to her foster brother, she accepts an impossible assignment: infiltrate a grand gothic masquerade and slay Damon, the thousand-year-old progenitor of vampires.
Elena's ambush fails, but Damon does not strike back; instead, he protects her, having watched over his fated mortal mate for centuries. When Elena suffers fatal injuries in a hunter ambush, Damon grants her eternal life through his royal bloodline. United against mutual foes, they launch a joint crusade to expose the corrupt guild masters who ignited her childhood home.
