The Kiss of Death follows on from Sedgwick's earlier vampire novel My Swordhand is Singing but it is not a sequel. The narrative's main focus is on Marko and Sorrel who meet in Venice for the first time. They must uncover the mystery of what has happened both to Sorrel's father, plagued by a strange madness that prevents him from sleeping, and to Marko's father, a doctor, who has mysteriously gone missing after travelling to Venice to help his old friend.