Venice, 1865: Sixteen-year-old Ayanda Draculesti doesn't remember her early life—all she knows is that she was found as a small child, wandering the streets of Venice with an intricate medallion and a mangled left arm. She knows that she's an Unnatural, an alchemical being created with strange abilities. She knows that if anyone finds out, she'll die at the hands of an angry mob. But Ayanda is unique even among Unnaturals--even though she's alive, she has the powers of a vampire. She has the strength and speed to battle them, and most importantly, the will. She won't let another child die. Ayanda isn't the only young Unnatural in Venice. Ghostly Yurei is in hiding, fleeing the captors determined to turn him into an assassin. Jette Jekyll and Belle Frankenstein are on the run from alchemists who want them dead and dissected. Their paths and Ayanda's collide when a brutal enemy surfaces that threatens them all: one of the Greater Dead, a vampire that slithers through Venice murdering everyone she encounters. This vampire isn't on the hunt. She has plans, more sinister and dangerous than anyone can imagine. Ayanda is determined to stop this Dead creature before she kills again. Yurei, Jette and Belle aren't. Why should they risk their lives to save people who see them as monsters? All they've ever known is hate and fear. They owe the world nothing. But Ayanda can't defeat a Dead creature alone.