A Battle in Blood finds Dru Nekkarn, Prime Inquisitor for the Protectorate, in the midst of a worsening crisis which began in A Warning in Blood . Hundreds of children continue to be turned by a mysterious and fanatical group of anarchist vampires. The turning of children causes not only heartbreak and chaos but also violent retribution against vampires in Protectorate lands. Slayers are awakening humans to the existence of vampires and causing havoc. Someone in the vampire government is planning a coup which will bring civil war. And dangerously fanatic vampires are trying to engineer the destruction of the peaceful order created by the Oldest Old vampires. The oldest generation of the undead devised a system to keep both human and vampire worlds at peace and apart. But the forces of chaos and anarchy want to return things to a more barbaric world in which humans are farmed like animals to be fed upon at will by undead overlords. This is an appealing prospect for many vampires who chafe under the yoke of peace and order. In this crumbling vampire landscape, Dru is tasked with destroying the vampires causing the chaos and then helping to restore the government. Though he meets with fierce resistance and must battle the forces of chaos on his own, he makes headway. But advances in this war come with a price: some of his companions are lost in the fray, some will never be the same. Dru is also confronted with a mysterious newly-created young vampire who is somehow connected to forces that are beyond ancient and who may either help Dru or might very well be the one to bring about the end of the new vampire order. If Dru battles his way out of the current crisis will that stop the fanatic advance? Will he be able to reconstitute the government and let them start again? There are challenges even after A Battle in Blood has been fought.