The Holy Land, 1291 - In the never-ending crusade against their Turke enemies, knights of the Order of the Sword, in the fury of battle, commit a blasphemy that taints their noble lineage and leaves them consumed by an insatiable hunger for blood ... The Ardennes, 1944 - Nazi soldiers besiege the castle of the Order of the Sword to gain the secrets of immortality from the centuries-old crusaders - by spilling and drinking their blood to be reborn as vampires ... Los Angeles, Now - Ace detective John Drummond of the LAPD is investigating the case of a body bearing Nazi tattoos, found drained of blood. It's a crime that echoes the unsolved murder of a half dozen men decades ago. Drummond thinks he's on the trail of a human monster - a vicious serial killer who has eluded the law for decades. But the truth, he will soon discover, is much, much worse ...