Iarun was a paladin, noble, brave, and dedicated to his goddesses. Until his heroism put him in the grasp of Thanasius, an utterly amoral vampire lord, who likes to break his toys. Held in magical thrall and helpless to do anything but obey, Iarun suffers countless tortures, physical and sexual, at the vampire's hand, including the very worst: being forced to kidnap and harm a child. Yet fate or chance results in Iarun finding Talis, a very unusual boy with an unusual destiny, whose complicated past and unexpected talents may well set them both free to find some kind of future together. Yet Talis' fated destiny isn't an easy thing either, and he'll be put through trials that make him doubt everything about himself. In the end, two heroes find salvation not in destiny nor in fighting evil, but in loving and supporting each other through the horrors each must endure.