A serial killer is hunting the Pacific Northwest, murdering victims in a gruesome and spectacular way. The local police suspect "monsters" are involved, and have called in U.S. Marshals Anita Blake and Edward to catch the killer. The Harlequin have been the bogeymen of the vampire world for more than a thousand years. Now they are here in America, hunting weretigers--and human police. The Harlequin serve the Mother of All Darkness, the first vampire. She was supposed to be dead, but only her body was destroyed. Now she needs a new one, and she's decided that Anita Blake is the body she wants. Edward thinks the serial killings are a trap to lure Anita closer to the most dangerous vampire they've ever hunted.