"The blood is the life." Born in Amsterdam in the 11th century, Beatrix Lisse has been a vampire from birth. Bea never knew her father; her mother deserted her to the streets and alleys of Amsterdam when Bea reached puberty and her "Companion" asserted itself, revealing its true nature to her. The Companion, a symbiotic organism living inside her, calls for human blood. And Bea willingly feeds it, killing and ripping like a feral animal fighting to survive. Bea has no conception of right or wrong -- she must feed to live.

Later on, a mentor finds Bea and takes her off the streets. Stephen is her savior, teacher, friend and as she matures, her lover. Stephen has rescued a second girl, Asharti, and brings her to live with him and Bea. Asharti, unlike Bea, is a made vampire -- an aberration. The law states that only born vampires will be allowed to live. Made vampires, those who've had the Companion thrust upon them, are to be killed for it's believed they will certainly go mad. Stephen sets out to prove this theory wrong. By raising Asharti and Bea in the same environment, his goal is to prove that there's no difference between those who're born as vampires and those who're made.

Deeply in love with Stephen, Bea discovers him in Asharti's bed and flees his house...with Asharti. The two travel the world through the centuries, taking what they want and leaving a trail of blood and bodies behind, until Bea tires of the game. Realizing she's put her soul in jeopardy, she leaves Asharti. Not pleased that timid Bea has finally stood up for herself, her demon sister vows revenge. For 600 years, Bea has never loved again, until in 1811, when John Langley enters her life.

On the surface, John is just another worthless rake in Regency London. Undercover, John is a spy in service to His Majesty's government. John's mission is to locate Bony's new "right-hand man," a seemingly unstoppable operative. John has little time to pursue Bea when the government sends him on a mission to find Bonaparte's confederate. What John eventually discovers is that it's a woman he's been looking for - a beautiful temptress called Asharti. Once Asharti has John in her power, she uses her formidable will to extract everything she wants from him -- sex, blood and information. Helpless to resist, John complies with every request. Now Bea must choose. Does she have the courage to face Asharti, who's always bested her before? And if she manages to rescue John, what will he think of her once her knows what she truly is?

This is a fantastic follow-up to Squire's previous vampire novel THE COMPANION. This series, with its slightly different take on vampires, will keep you up burning the midnight oil. Hurray that the evil Asharti is back and up to no good. What else would we expect of her? A riveting plotline, sizzling sex and convincing characters make this a must read for October.