When Larten Crepsley's cousin, Vur Horston, is killed by an overzealous, brash, and downright evil foreman at the silk factory where they both work, Larten makes an instant decision to kill the awful man. Before he even knows what he has done, Larten is on the run. As he flees into the stormy night, he seeks shelter in a crypt, where he meets Seba, an aging vampire. Larten knows that he cannot return to his old life, for he will face certain death. Seba becomes Larten's master and vows to teach him the ways of the vampire. When Seba must attend the Vampire Mountain summit, he leaves Larten in the care of Mr. Tall, leader of Cirque Du Freak. In this highly anticipated prequel to the Cirque Du Freak series, Larten is introduced as a caring young man caught in a very unfortunate circumstance. Readers will enjoy learning how and why Larten became a vampire and how he became a part of the thrilling Cirque Du Freak show. Larten's journey involves mountainside summits, vampire training lessons, amazing tricks and antics in the Cirque Du Freak circus, and so much more. Fans of Darren Shan will eat this book up and likely go on to reread the series, now that they know the backstory on how a killer was born.