Young Nadia flees feral vampires and seeks shelter at Blood Keep with the cruel lord Kravan. Because she looks exactly like his dead beloved Rosalind, he treats her as a worthless substitute. To survive, Nadia signs a coercive Blood Scroll binding her life to his, requiring intimate kisses to unleash pure-blood power. The half-blood commander Lucien wants to use her to avenge Rosalind, while the scheming pure-blood Vespera manipulates everyone with illusions. Nadia eventually learns Vespera murdered Rosalind and that Kravan actually saved her life twenty years ago. Together they defeat Vespera. Kravan abandons his lifelong wish to become human, choosing eternal love and restraint with Nadia amid the bloodshed.
