After his beloved mother passes away suddenly, Jay Turner returns to their Boston home to clear out her possessions and finds an unusual item: a partially burned scrap of newspaper bearing the name “Gael Brogan.” Soon after, a deliveryman leaves behind a package containing a small antique volume bound in leather --- and two bloody footprints. As a young scholar, his mother had been given the medieval book --- one of a set commissioned by Vlad Țepeș, otherwise known as Dracula, just before his death in 1477. She had always warned Jay of the dangers associated with it and had donated it to a museum before she died. Yet here it is, back in his possession. Jay sets out to learn more about Gael Brogan, a prominent 19th-century actor, and uncovers the frightening story of a young actress who fell under Brogan's sway long ago.

A young American woman, Alexandra Boyd, has traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria, hoping that life abroad will salve the wounds left by the loss of her beloved brother. Soon after arriving in this elegant East European city, however, she helps an elderly couple into a taxi --- and realizes too late that she has accidentally kept one of their bags. Inside she finds an ornately carved wooden box engraved with a name: Stoyan Lazarov. Raising the hinged lid, she discovers that she is holding an urn filled with human ashes. As Alexandra sets out to locate the family and return this precious item, she will first have to uncover the secrets of a talented musician who was shattered by political oppression --- and she will find out all too quickly that this knowledge is fraught with its own danger.