This book is the story of the life of Marius. Marius meets Thorne, an ancient vampire, who asks about his history. Marius tells Thorne that he was a Roman patrician, who was abducted by some Druids and held hostage for a god that lived in a tree. The god was actually a vampire, who gave Marius the gift of vampirism, though he did not want it. We also learn about the love story between Pandora and Marius, and how he became the keeper of Akasha and Enkil. Marius has had a long and interesting life up to this point, and I love getting to know more about specific characters. This was an good book, and explains so much about Marius and the way that he is. Marius is one of my favorite characters in this series.