The feeders walk among us. They sap our energy and cause sudden old age death. Governments tell people it's a virus. If told the truth, it would shatter the fabric of humanity.

It started innocently enough. Frank Hram sipped a bourbon at Blink's Bar, winding down for the day. Dan sat beside him and they exchanged small talk. A striking woman, black hair falling to her waist, walked in and Dan had to have her. Frank recognized her as a feeder, but didn't worry too much about it. He watched them leave, figuring Dan was in for one hell of a night.

As a Covenant Keeper, Frank had a side job far removed from his full-time one as a financial consultant. He killed rogue feeders who took too much from their victims, causing them to suddenly die of old age. On Friday night at Blink's, having a drink before going out for dinner, Dan came up and Frank did not recognize him. The man looked sixty, and Frank knew he had to kill the woman. On Monday, a TV news clip announced Dan's death. He arranged a seemingly innocent date with her, then drained her of her energy. She had three to five days before she died.

Detective Nadala Robinson, transferred to Taskforce Crimson, got the job of finding out who killed a small-time pimp, Lenny the Finger, one of taskforce's informers and a possible rogue feeder. Her boss suspected the Covenant got to him, but it could also have been a gangland murder. He then told her to look into Daniel Poole's case. His gut said there was a connection. Orders were orders, and Nadala started digging into both cases. She had her common denominator-Frank Hram. Early into the investigation, she found she had a conflict of interest ... a possible infatuation with Frank, and life suddenly becomes a whole lot more difficult for everybody.