A VAMPIRE IN THE ITALIAN AGE OF GOLD. Sixteen years old, ittorio is the sole survivor of a bizarre and violent massacre at his father's Tuscan palazzo. Escaping to the Florence of Cosimo de Medici, he seeks vengeance and retribution. But though he has been saved from death by a mysterious woman, he finds himself at the mercy of demonic, bloody nightmares, war and political intrigue. And, beyond even these perils, Vittorio faces being torn apart by a dangerous love. Against a backdrop of the wonders - both sacred and profane - of Renaissance Italy, with its art and ferocity, angels and demons. Anne Rice introduces a seductive new character and creates a passionate, tragic legend of doomed young love and lost innocence.