Los
Angeles - City of Angels, City of Dreams. But sometimes the dreams
become nightmares. Victor Renquist, centuries-old Master of a
small group of Nosferatu, is working to establish the Colony in
their new home, after leaving New York just one step ahead of
exposure. In many ways, life in Los Angeles is easier - the city
is full of enough lost souls, with no one to mourn them or question
their disappearance, that the awesomely powerful Nosferatu experience
no difficulty sating their need for fresh human blood. They have
become a deeper, darker part of the city's nightlife.
And
Hollywood's glitterati are hot on the scent of a new thrill, one
that outshines all others - immortality. Never to die. Even though
it means joining the ranks of the Undead, some - especially one
aging superstar who fears the waning of his popularity - are ready
and willing to pay the price.
Renquist
is faced with a dilemma. For the Colony to remain viable, it must
grow. He knows this, the other members know this, and each seeks
to control the choosing of the new blood. But every new member
brought through the rituals into the ancient compact of blood
and terror poses a new problem of politics, of group dynamics,
of power. As Master, Renquist must walk a tightrope - balancing
the conflicting desires of the members and himself while still
remaining in control.
And
Renquist is uneasy. Ancient instincts warn him that someone, somewhere,
is meddling with even darker powers, powers that even the Nosferatu
fear, powers that are totally inimical to all life. The Council
of Nine, governing board of Apogee, a highly successful quasi-religious
cult, is attempting to summon the entity of ancient evil know
as Cthulhu - a being that figures all too frequently in Renquist's
dreams. He must find a way to stop them and also solve the problem
of the Darklost, a human brought partway along the road to becoming
Nosferatu and then cruelly abandoned.
Can
Renquist overcome the growing dissent in his own Colony and unite
all his forces, old and new, to save the world - of humans?
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