Shelby Cort has had enough of working for a big-city police department. Ricard De Chaux, the notorious le docteur la mort and ex-Paramount for the Undead in France, has been escaping for years and now reluctantly works his way back into human society. They meet in the small town of Shadow Bay, Michigan – Shelby as Sheriff and Ric as the new county medical examiner.

When dead bodies start to pop up in unlikely places and the killings go unsolved, Shelby comes under attack from town officials, the media, and her own co-workers. She finds an ally in the new ME, both grateful for his support and drawn by his exotic good looks.

But what Shelby doesn't know is that the killer isn't human. What she also doesn't know is that the cool, collected Dr. De Chaux is by night Doctor Death, the new Overlord of the local Undead, whose top priority is to protect his new charges. Doctor Death hides one piece of evidence after another from the Sheriff, as all the while Ric fills Shelby's off-duty time with longing and passion.

When the killer goes after Shelby and all Ric's secrets are on the line, where will his allegiance fall?