Who is Jacob? And why has he sought out this young horror writer to tell his story? Why is he finally revealing the dark history of how he became a creature of the night? Born in 1858, orphaned at 13, abandoned to the desperate alleys of Seattle's rough waterfront, Jacob becomes a street-rat and a pickpocket. Until one night, he picks the wrong pocket... Caught by a man he knows only as Monsieur, suddenly swept into the world of the Nightsiders, Jacob discovers there is much more to being a creature of the darkness than popular mythology might have it. Serving first as a daykeeper, then later as a protege, and finally as a hunter, Jacob learns that not everybody can be a vampire. You have to prove you're ready for it. There's an initiation...and it's not what you think. It's worse. And then...even if you do pass the test, even if you finally understand what's being offered, is this the life you desire?