The story begins with Max, an ancient vampire living in a penthouse high above a modern city. His immortality seen not as a gift, but as a "sentence passed" in a "gilded cage". He spends his time sorting the agony of time and avoiding human connections to spare himself the pain of outliving people. He is haunted by memories of past lovers: Elara, Isabelle, Anya, and Marcus. Struggling daily with a predatory hunger he realizes his isolation is slowly extinguishing him, a decision to venture into the unknown is made, leaving his cage behind forever.
