Ryan is reunited with her mentor only to discover that Victor has fallen ill, an impossibility for One who is both invulnerable and immortal While her human companion, Dr. Susan Ryerson, continues her examination of their unique anatomies with the hope of discovering what is wrong with her liege, simultaneously, word comes that the Grand Council has been reconvened. The ancient ones who sit upon the Council call upon Ryan to conduct a millennial purge - a controlled hunt in which the least desirable of their Kind are culled. Now, Ryan is brought face-to-face with the oldest of her Kind, and with seduction on an unimagined level