Lord Karolan, endowed with an arcane knowledge of Alchemy, knows immortality comes at a price. For any lover perishes at his touch. His only companion is his 'familiar' a greedy, wanton spirit that attached itself to him during his transformation and, which feasts on his fleshly desires as it yearns to become human. Karolan saves Garnetta from the plague sweeping through early gothic Europe, by bestowing the 'dark gift' upon her, but without her permission. A bond of desire develops between the two, and a future for them seems possible. Until Garnetta learns the shocking truth about what Karolan's laboratory holds, and what he has done to her. Fleeing in horror, she unwittingly falls into the hands of the inquisition. Found guilty of heresy, she is to be subject to a fate even she cannot survive. Dare she open her heart to Karolan now she knows what he is? While risking attracting his familiar, now attached to her also, which is eager to inhabit her enticing female form. Karolan is desperate to find the woman he has grown to love, knowing that only a leap of faith can lead him to her, before time runs out.