When gargoyles last walked the earth eight hundred years ago, the proud race traveled in close-knit packs and could turn to stone at will. They were strong, beautiful creatures whose throats were marked with ancient runes. Throughout time, their greatest enemies were the ugly and brutal harpies that people today mistake for gargoyles. The same harpies were responsible for the gargoyles' downfall.

Like all gargoyles, and the rest of his pack, Valor is driven by instinct to protect the people he cares about. So when he encounters a human girl for the first time in almost a thousand years, his first impulse is to keep her from harm. But Valor soon discovers that the greatest risk to MacKenzie's safety is himself. Just one scratch from the poisonous barbs on his knuckles...and she'll be lost to him forever.