Although Jillian has stopgap measures to try to control the poison that makes her blood smell delicious -and fatal- to vampires, she is still dying; although her companion, the dhampyr Declan, takes a serum to control the darker side of his vampiric urges, the rage within threatens to spill out and hurt everyone around them, particularly Jillian. They have very few avenues for hope, but someone they thought was dead might provide some clues; he might provide some clues for their continued survival if he isn't the same manipulating vampire he's always been that is. Declan and Jillian are on the wrong side of a war between brothers as well as a war within themselves. Jillian has to fight miserable pain due to the poison Nightshade, but she also fights the passionless spectre Declan's serums have created. Finally, they have to ask themselves if they trust anyone, most of all themselves.

BLOODLUST is an excellent sequel to Nightshade, but it doesn't require the previous work for easy reading. Readers will fight Jillian's battles with her, hoping against hope the entire time.