Washington, D.C.--capital of an empire. Powerful. Exhilarating. Corrupt. And in the shadows . . . vampires far older than the nation itself. A power unto himself, Duncan has served at Raphael's side for a hundred and fifty years. But long-laid plans have finally borne fruit, and the time has come for Duncan to leave Raphael and tackle the greatest challenge of his life. He will face treacherous vampires and murderous humans. He will rock the halls of human power if necessary, but Washington, D.C. will be his. Emma Duquet cares nothing for vampire politics. She just wants to find her missing roommate and best friend, Lacey. But Lacey has been playing with vampires of a particularly dangerous kind, and Emma will have to deal with the new vampire in town if she's going to find her friend. Battling powerful enemies who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets, Duncan and Emma will dig beneath the corruption and depravity that is Washington, D.C. and uncover the most heinous conspiracy of all . . .