Thirteen years ago, in 1812, Captain Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov fought alongside a group of twelve highly-skilled Wallachians who called themselves the 'Oprichniki,' savage mercenaries who helped halt the advancement of French troops into Russia. But Danilov soon discovered that the group were actually 'voordalak' (vampires) and, believing them to be a greater threat to Russia and mankind itself, he systematically hunted and destroyed each and everyone one of them.
To his surprise, the leader of the group--Iuda--actually turned out to be human, although he was equally as vicious as his undead companions. Thirteen years later, in 1825, the war is over and Danilov continues working as a spy, trying to protect his beloved tsar Alexandr I from an uprising he's facing from within his own army, as well as a secretive group of influential Russians who want to see their leader dead.