Book 1: It's 1815. Garrick Mortimer is a starving genius, who agrees to sign on as tutor to Desmond Hathaway, the youngest son of a vampire family living in Yorkshire. When Desmond's older brother returns from Italy for a visit and brings with him a small group of talentless poets, life in Dryden Abbey turns upside-down, mainly when Desmond meets Leigh Blaise Sherbourne, a sullen vampire poet.

Book 2: As the poets continue their campaign of destruction in Dryden Abbey, Garrick struggles in the classroom, with distracted pupils eroding all of his hard work. And an unexpected love triangle further complicates things for Desmond. Through all these, Garrick and Desmond will realize that the chasm separating them as distinct species will forge a stronger bond of friendship than they expected.