“How can I describe the paradise that the taste of your blood opened before me? I can't. Superlatives are not enough...” Former Soviet surgeon Roman Ivanescu honors his Hippocratic oath to “do no harm” by working at a blood bank in Manhattan. Satisfying his raging thirst without killing a soul, Roman resists his natural desires, balancing on the edge of common sense. Enchanted by the exotic taste of the blood of a stranger he feasted on, draining the entire bag to the last drop, Roman tracks down the prima ballerina Maiko Himura, who awakens in him a passion that he considered long forgotten by him. But when Roman learns that his new lover has only a few weeks to live, he is forced to make a difficult choice. After all, sooner or later you have to pay for every gift.