In the unsettled time when Imperial Rome totters on the brink of collapse, the vampire Ragoczy Germainus Sanct' Franciscus - known to thousands of readers as the Count Saint-Germain - finds himself persecuted. Targeted by a corrupt Roman official, Franciscus is accused of disloyalty to the Emperor, bribery, and tax evasion. As if this wasn't enough, Franciscus gives shelter to a Roman prostitute who has been beaten and abused by the very men who should have protected her. The storm that hovers over the vampire grows darker when he is accused of corrupting Ignatia, the virgin daughter of an ailing Roman noblewoman. Ignatia's brother, a zealous convert to the new religion of Christianity, threatens to purify Franciscus with fire. And fire can destroy even the undead.