Nightingale is human - or would be, had it not been for the manner of her creation. Genetically engineered and grown to adulthood in a lab, she was created, not born. Why? For the sole purpose of the entertainment of rich men as one of the many Inamoratas in the bordello business . Beautiful, elegant, a superb dancer and an even better singer, she is the perfect lover for any man. Perfect, that is, except for her personality - the one thing you can't engineer.

The powerful blend of human and vampire blood flows through Dimitri Belikov, making him a Dhampir. Dimitri is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Moroi from the Strigoi. Nothing stopped Dimitri from committing to a hard life of killing and facing death. Until he meets Rose Hathaway. A dhampir like himself, he is bound to teach her the ways of their kind. As their friendship grows Dimitri finds himself falling for her. Not only is it morally wrong but it scares him. As he battles his love life he soon discovers that facing death isn't the only thing he'll have to worry about. Follow Dimitri and his ongoing struggles throughout the first book of Vampire Academy by the original author Richelle Mead.