All Alex Kitchner ever wanted was to survive his brutal childhood and escape the small town that never cared enough to look closer. His only solace growing up was his sister Sheena and his best friend Norman. But when Sheena vanishes without a trace, ten-year-old Alex is left behind—alone, afraid, and convinced something far darker than a runaway story lies beneath her disappearance.

Years later, she reappears at his bedroom window—silent, haunted, and gone again by morning.

That night changes everything.

A single book on vampire lore opens Alex's eyes to a chilling truth: Sheena didn't leave—she was taken by a fate worse than death. And now, Alex is determined to bring her back.

His path leads him to medical school, where he hopes to find a cure for vampirism and save what's left of his sister's soul. But when he arrives on campus, life offers a brief reprieve. He bonds with his roommate Isaac and is drawn into the luminous orbit of Hazel—a fierce, radiant girl with secrets of her own. Together, they plunge into a nightly world of live-action vampire roleplay, a game that offers Alex an escape... until it becomes terrifyingly real.

One of them isn't pretending.

Caught in the crosshairs of ancient rivalries and dangerous vampire politics, Alex must navigate a hidden war erupting beneath the surface of his new college town. Every move he makes risks the lives of those he's come to love—and the sister he refuses to give up on.

Can a mortal heart survive in a world ruled by the undead?