When 18-year-old Alma is invited to live with Nightfather and pursue the Pleasures of Power, she's determined to win his affection and ultimate gift: eternal life.
Yet life in the House of Night is not what she expected. Nightfather spends all of his time alone with Nightmother, leaving his second wife to rule with an iron fist. The servants brought from Alma's home are hollowed out versions of their former selves. Others-including Alma's own mentor-have disappeared entirely.
Alma buries her suspicions and throws herself into attending to the Daughter of Night, an extraordinary woman who requires special care.
When Nightfather calls upon Alma at last, she begins to see that his eternity is not a reward but a trap-and that it is not him, but the woman he calls his daughter, that her heart longs for. But tragedy lurks in every corner, and sometimes the only escape is death.
