Valentine was the only vampire survivor of a fight with Anita Blake, Edward, and Manny Rodriguez. Anita threw holy water on his face, scarred it badly, and now he wears a golden mask to hide his marred face. Valentine also badly scarred Anita.

Valentine is part of the regime of Nikolaos, the master of the city. He vows to kill Anita after she tells them who has been murdering vampires in St. Louis...