In this mesmerizing new novel, Anne Rice demonstrates once again her gift for spellbinding storytelling and the creation of myth and magic, as she weaves together two of her most compelling worlds-- those of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair witches. At the center of this magnificent novel is the beautiful unconquerable witch, Merrick. She is a descendant of the gens de couleur libres, a caste derived from the black mistresses of white men who reign in a society where the African and the French intermingle in the shadows. Her ancestors are the Great Mayfair witches, from whom she unknowingly inherits extraordinary powers. In this exotic place comes David Talbot-- a hero, adventurer, and almost-mortal vampire from another dark realm. It is he who recounts Merrick's haunting tale-- one that takes us from the New Orleans of the past and present to the jungles of Guatemala, from the Mayan ruins of a century ago to ancient civilizations not yet explored. It is an irresistible story in which magical powers and otherworldly fascinations are locked in a dance of seduction, death, and rebirth...