The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir's Academy was the deadliest ever in the school's history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them... including Dimitri. At the end of shadow kiss Rose chose Dimitri over Lissa and had gone on a crazy goose chase to kill him. In Russia, she meets Sydney, an alchemist, who takes her to Dimitri's village. She meets his family and starts living with him. She also meets the bonded couple of Oksana and Mark. Abe, an infamous, powerful moroi is trying to send her back to the USA. She accepts his deal to leave the Belikovs when she learnt it was the only way to protect Viktoria, Dimitri's younger sister. She goes along with some unpromised vampire slayers to interrogate some strigoi to learn of Dimitri's whereabouts. Dimitri finds Rose, knocks her out and makes her captive. He also drinks from her and attempts to convince her to allow him to awaken her. However, she runs away, knowing it was either becoming a strigoi, or death. Dimitri chases her while she attepts to commit suicide on a bridge, but Rose stabs him with a silver stake. She mentally fights against Avery, an unknown evil spirit user with Lissa and Adrian. After this she goes back to St Vladimers where she learns, from Janine, that Abe was her Dad. She also gives Adrian a chance. However, when she joins once again she receives a bloody stake and death threatlove letter from Dimitri, who she thought she killed. She realizes after school, she and Lissa will have to release Victor Dashkov from prison in order to find his spirit user brother and turn Dimitri back to his Dhampir state.