Simmons conveys the atmosphere of post-Ceaucescu Romania, where vampires congregate on special occasions. A scientific explanation of vampirism, which is that it's a combination of several immune-system deficiencies with a retrovirus that can cannibalize others' blood to build up the host's immune system.
Vlad Dracula, the ancient patriarch, is dying. As he dies, he periodically relives memories of his past life. Meanwhile, a child is being prepared for the Investiture, a ceremony which will pass on Dracula's heritage.
Then Kate Neuman, an immunologist working for the relief effort in Romania, adopts the child Joshua and takes him home to the States, where she quickly discovers that, normally sickly, he thrives on blood transfusions...she and several other researchers quickly try to find out how he does it, isolating the retrovirus with high hopes for an AIDS cure.
The vampires retrieve the child; Kate pursues, aided by two men whose motives she doesn't fully know...
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