Klappentext

Every folktale is pearl: layers of hearsay spun from a single grain of truth.

Humans have discovered that truth of the myth of the vampire: They are not bloodthirsty revenants brought back from the dead, but the apex predator created by evolution. Humanity's only defense is their worldwide presence, established by the bloody ages of imperialism and World Wars. Now, a new war has begun, both sides battling for the simple desire to live free from fear of the other.

Coming of age while wondering if war will steal their lives before they begin.

But the fates of nations and their wars are matters far above the students in the small farming town Fossil Creek, specifically, Ruby, Jada, Victoria, and Pascal. Like every other person of their generation, human and vampire alike, they were forced to inherit the war of their parents. During their last summer before high school, they begin to feel the first pressures of a war which does not care who wants to fight and who wants to be left alone far behind the battle line.

Each of these four, in their own ways, confront the Sisyphean task of daring to push forward, daring to dream in a world on the brink of destruction. One is an artist who wishes to mold a brighter world from the ashes of war. One is an idealist who wishes to shield the innocent victims, no matter which side they belong to. One is a scientist who wishes for war to end so discovery can begin. One is a vampire.