In the past, a young peasant boy grows to manhood in a violent, bloodthirsty world. In the present, a mysterious woman is found in the morgue and slowly begins returning to life. Susan Ryerson, a genetic researcher, treats the mortally injured woman and against her will is drawn into Ryan's world. She learns of Victor, the man who gave Ryan immortality, and learns of Ryan's terrible revenge against those who killed her parents. The story weaves through six centuries, from the battle of Agincourt to the corruption and perversity of the Borgia Pope's court. Susan soon learns of the Others, the creatures who are also Ryan's Kind, and only then begins to understand the dark and erotic world that Ryan lives in. Against her better judgment, Susan Ryerson continues to seek the secrets of Ryan's immortality for the sake of science. And she begins to suspect that Ryan has not told her everything...