ILLEGAL USE OF NARCOTIC DRUGS, PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES AND THEIR ANALOGUES IS HARMFUL TO HEALTH. THEIR ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING IS PROHIBITED AND CARRIES LIABILITY ESTABLISHED BY LAW.
Here, the day belongs to the living, and the night — to the dead. As soon as the sun disappears below the horizon, werewolves, undead risen from graves, and bloodsuckers set out to hunt, scenting a human trail. Only oberezhniki — people marked with a rare gift — are capable of resisting this merciless evil. But every year fewer of them are born; many fail to endure the training, and those to whom it comes easily too often pay for it with their lives.
Tamira and Lesanu, still very young, are forcibly taken from their homes to the grim Citadel, where they are to become hunters of the unclean. Only the quiet Ailisha goes there willingly and joyfully. All three are destined for harsh lessons and years of trials, but none of them yet realizes what price must be paid for the salvation of others.