Richard Alfieri

In downtown Los Angeles, Grace Landry flees a nightclub after spotting Sky Wheelright, a former lover who accuses her of abusing him. She turns to Mike, an ex-cop working club security, and says she is being stalked by Dr. Vinson, a man suspected of murdering his wife. Mike believes her and helps her leave the city. The next morning, he sees Grace’s photograph in the newspaper: she is wanted for the murder. Grace insists she is innocent, and Mike chooses to trust her.

On a train to Santa Barbara, they encounter Sky again. Grace says he was abusive and wants revenge. But the truth is stranger: Grace, Sky, and Vinson are all vampires. Mike knows nothing of their hidden world, and as he falls for Grace, he mistakes her secrecy and vulnerability for ordinary fear.

Vinson’s wife, Cara, died in a baffling way: her body was reduced to ashes, while the surrounding tree and ground remained untouched. Flashbacks reveal that Vinson had developed a formula that could let vampires survive sunlight. Cara wanted it, but the formula’s rare ingredient made it precious. Grace seduced Vinson and persuaded him to give her the real formula while Cara received a placebo. Cara went into the sun unprotected and died. Grace blames Vinson; he accuses Grace of manipulating him.

In Santa Barbara, Mike notices that Grace never eats and prefers the night. Sky continues pursuing her, desperate to obtain the formula so he can walk in sunlight. He tests a stolen vial on Augie, his loyal companion, but it fails, leaving Augie horribly burned. Sky realizes Grace has tricked him.

Grace begins feeding again, killing a man near the hotel. Mike believes Vinson attacked her, but news of similar bloodless murders makes him uneasy. Vinson asks Mike whether he has ever seen Grace eat. Mike dismisses the question, though doubt lingers.

Grace seeks help from Orozco, the powerful vampire who turned her centuries earlier. His chemist cannot reproduce Vinson’s formula because its key ingredients are protected by an anti-replication mechanism. Orozco refuses to help Grace, considering her selfish and untrustworthy. He wants the formula for himself, fearing that whoever controls sunlight could challenge his authority.

Vinson tries to reclaim Grace and the formula. She pretends to want him back, but he sees through her attempt to manipulate him. At a train station, Mike waits for Grace, only to watch her leave. Sky tells him she abandoned him and reveals her role in Cara’s death. Mike is devastated, yet still cares for Grace.

Sky and Mike join forces when Sky discovers Orozco plans to bargain with Vinson. Grace is weakening in jail, where she is deprived of blood and sunlight. Mike visits her and learns that she never loved Vinson; she wanted what he had. Sky later rescues her, killing a guard and giving her blood. The three escape to a house in the Hollywood Hills.

Mike wants Grace to run, but she and Sky are determined to stop Orozco from taking the formula. Their argument reveals that Grace could turn Mike into a vampire but has chosen not to. Sky explains that turning someone is an irreversible choice. Grace refuses to impose on Mike the fate Orozco imposed on her—and the fate she imposed on Sky.

When Mike sees himself in a mirror and finds no reflection, he realizes the truth about himself. Overwhelmed, he leaves. Grace watches him go, believing she has lost him.

Orozco demands the formula from Vinson, offering protection in exchange. Vinson hands over the formula and research notes, but the notes are false. Orozco tests the formula in sunlight and burns his hand. Grace appears, revealing that Vinson gave him a fake and intends to become a vampire himself.

Before Vinson can secure his transformation with the help of Dina, his receptionist and lover, Orozco arrives. He kills Dina and drains Vinson. With Vinson dead, the real formula—and the possibility of safe sunlight—seems lost.

Sky is devastated. He has spent decades longing to feel the sun again. At a nightclub, he confronts Orozco, accusing him of sacrificing every vampire’s future to preserve his own power. Orozco follows Sky into an alley, where Grace is waiting. During the confrontation, Orozco decapitates Augie. Sky retaliates with a silver blade, and he and Grace keep Orozco’s head and body apart until he dies.

Afterward, Sky leaves alone. Mike finds Grace and asks if she still wants him. She says goodbye to her sister and boards a night train to Santa Barbara. Mike arrives with her bag—and his own. He has chosen to stay with her, knowing what that choice may cost.

As dawn approaches, Sky runs along Zuma Beach and lies in the sand, facing the sunlight he had longed for. At the hotel, Grace and Mike embrace. She offers him her blood, giving him the choice to become a vampire. Mike agrees, and Grace turns him.

At sunrise, beachgoers discover Sky’s body, hardened like stone. It crumbles into ashes before their eyes. Behind the hotel’s drawn curtains, Grace and Mike hold each other in darkness. Mike is no longer human, but unlike Grace and Sky, he chose his fate.