Algebra class, two old friends, and a creature with deadly hands test Darren's determination as he travels to Mr. Crepsley's home town to search for the murderous vampaneze.
Vampire prince Darren Shan, working with old friends to solve the mystery of a series of murders, finds himself pursued by the purple-skinned vampaneze, the police, and an angry mob after he is framed for the killings.
After traveling with Mr. Crepsley, the vampire who made him into a half-vampire, Darren returns to the freak show known as the Cirque du Freak and continues to fight his need to drink human blood.
Darren Shan leaves Vampire Mountain as part of an elite force on a life-and-death mission to find the newly-risen Vampaneze Lord, who is set to lead the vampaneze into war against the vampires.
Betrayed by Kurda and reeling from the brutal slaying of Gavner, the vampire's assistant, Darren Shan, finds himself branded a traitor and hunted by the vampire clan.
Two boys who are best friends visit an illegal freak show, where an encounter with a vampire and a deadly spider forces them to make life-changing choices.
Darren, Evra, and Mr. Crepsley leave the Cirque Du Freak and get a taste of the city, but when corpses drained of blood are discovered, Darren and Evra must confront a dangerous creature of the night.
Darren begins the Trials of Initiation to prove himself worthy of being a half-vampire, even as the clan's blood foes, the vampaneze, gather near Vampire Mountain.
As Darren faces the final showdown with his archenemy, Steve Leopard, he seeks a way to trick destiny and avoid the requirement that one of them die and the other become Lord of the Shadows, fated to destroy the world.