Charley, also called Cherry, is a cyborg vampire who hunts other vampires for the Vatican while clinging to his faith and refusing human blood. For sustenance he depends on his own sire, Johnny Rayflo, a rich, hedonistic Progenitor who spends his nights as a playboy and enjoys needling his servant. Their lopsided bond drags them onto the trail of Vassalord, a drug that turns humans into vampires, and toward the question of who made it and how Rayflo is tied to it.