Wealth, power, immortality. Rowena could have it all. All she has to do is die.

Rowena’s country is gone, squashed under a tide of tanks, bombs and Pale, immortal soldiers. Rowena herself refuses to accept defeat.  She trades contraband, plays dirty, and even robs her fellow students,  but when her father returns from war a hero, she discovers a new temptation and a new meaning of fear.

Join and Die. 

Become one of the oppressors, join the empire and live a life of luxury and ease but only if she accepts 'The Gift' and becomes a 'Pale', in other words, a vampire. 

With the the clock ticking on her family’s decision, Rowena’s forced into close quarters with Vincenzo, the handsome son of a powerful man and trendy social revolutionary, and ambushed by Luka, an attractive, heavily armed criminal.

Both men try to recruit her but Rowena, drawn to both of them, fears what will happen when she's served her purpose. Can Rowena hold on to her family, her individuality, and even her life in Sanguinia, the city without a sun, or will the darkness of the world’s oldest empire, and the immortal Emperor Dominus, swallow her whole?

Reviewers say:

Charalambides … build(s) an original and thoroughly engaging dystopian adventure that crosses genres from strictly YA, the traditional target of vampire stories, to a much more mature mainstream tale that should entertain adult readers as well. PublishersDailyReview

"A vampire love triangle with a difference" Goodreads