Born a young Englishman of wealth, the feckless Porlock takes a tour of the Continent when he is set upon by a vampire – and subsequently becomes one himself – in what is modern-day Turkey. Assuming the identity of a Romanian nobleman, he re-enters British society and means to feed off the “teeming millions” but is exposed to sunlight and thought destroyed. Surviving and relocating in America, he enlists the aid from a young man named Eddie and then makes him a fledgling vampire. When they part ways and Eddie tries to make a new life in Alaska, Porlock finds him there and earns the proper death that has eluded him for so long.

Each of the four story arcs is an homage to a pivotal moment in the history of classic vampire literature, and reflect not only the style of writing for the period, but also the uses vampires have had as a metaphor for society's perceived ills and enemies.