When a dark gray substance of unknown origin fills the skies, blotting out the sun and leaving all life on Earth to a terrible fate, most humans sicken instantly and succumb to the deadly toxins in the air. Their death is fast, painful, and horrifying to witness. Other humans become the victims of vampires running rampant in the chaos. And the last remaining group of humans is the survivors. Somehow they make it through the Armageddon without disease or death, but are left to face a world that resembles a person’s worst nightmare.

Julia Poe was eight years old the day the skies turned gray. Her family perished all around her, leaving her helpless in the city’s dreaded jungle of vampires. Somehow, through tears and keenly alert senses, Julia finds her way into an abandoned bomb shelter and begins her life of survival.

Fourteen years later, on her twenty-second birthday, Julia’s war against the vampires is yanked onto a whole new playing field. Vampire factions have been using surviving humans as cattle.  When a rescue attempt goes south, Julia finds herself challenged by a very powerful vampire.

Her only friends have been out of contact for days; if anything has happened to them, her vendetta will know no end. Cornered and without any other options, Julia must decide quickly whether or not to accept an alliance with another very powerful vampire—one who is responsible for both turning humans into cattle and making her libido sizzle with a mind of its own. All vampires are evil - she will kill them all, won’t she?

More appears to be going on between the vampire factions and the vampire council than Julia could have ever imagined. The further the trail goes, the scarier the truths are. Deceit and treachery know no bounds among these bloodthirsty creatures of the night. The laws and codes that have governed them no longer apply, and chaos reigns once again. Julia is the key to the solution, but broken trust and animosity have erected too many barriers between allies. The right path is no longer clear, and that could spell disaster for the ambitious lifesaving plan that seems to have been doomed from the start.

This first novel in "The Julia Poe Vampire Chronicles" sets a good foundation for future installments. Julia is a fantastic protagonist with an interesting history and more than capable efficiency in fulfilling the role written for her. It's refreshing to have an action-packed novel with a heroine who is actually realistic for the storyline. While Celis T. Rono is a new name in the flavorful vampire world, her work shows a fighting chance, just like her lead character. While some experience needs to be earned before comparisons to authors like Jeaniene Frost can be made, given time and another novel or two, Rono will be great competition.