The man known as Falconer was born of a whore, served the royal court as a predator trainer, and warred against the infidel Saracens as a conscripted soldier in the Holy Land. But it wasn't until he found himself in the arms of a creature called Pythia that he was truly born into his destined role-that of vampire...

Hailed as the messiah of the vampyre, Aleric is captured by the sorceress Enora, imprisoned, and forced to battle in the arena for her amusement, and to stop her reign of terror, Aleric must somehow escape, locate the alchemist behind her power, and unleash his old nemesis, Pythia, the Lady of Serpents, who may hold the key to the survival of the vampyres and humankind alike.

After rescuing Pythia, the creature who turned him into a vampire, Aleric follows her back to the land of the Saracens. There, they must raise an army, for Aleric's lost love, Enora, has become the Queen of the Wastelands. Aided by her minions and her legions of wolves, she has begun the quest to call the Dark Madonna from beyond the Veil into the world of man. To stop the end of all, Aleric must become what he was destined to be-the Messiah of the Damned-and lead the undead in a final battle against the Mother of Darkness.