It begins with absence & desire. It begins with blood & fear. It begins with a discovery of witches. When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches creative destructive daemons & long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery the creatures gather in Oxford among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew & in a shadowy world of half-truths & old enmities ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript & their feelings for each other deepen so the fragile balance of peace unravels...