Zervan da Xankar, pursued by the most powerful sorceress of the high elves, returns home to the country from which he fled many years ago. A civil war is brewing in Erengarde, and a treacherous neighbor is already gathering an army to invade. And against the backdrop of these dramatic events, the vampire’s path intersects with the paths of a rogue orc and a mysterious fugitive. What all three have in common is the understanding that even if you breathe, this does not mean that you are alive.