No wonder American anthropologist, Samantha Russell is nervous on her PhD research visit to London! She's flat-sharing with a glamorous lesbian vampire called Sterling, who's deeply involved in the London gangland culture of the anarchic 1980s. When both women find themselves in possession of a mysterious ancient artifact, they soon become the objects of unwanted attention - notably from the London police authorities and a secret society deep within the heart of the British Establishment, and from this point onward, things start to turn decidedly dangerous and deadly. Can the girls return the ancient artifact - a neck torc - back to where it truly belongs in the mythical underworld realm of the Dead via a cavern on the outskirts of Naples. Or will their arch nemesis Jimmy Silver and the local Camorra hitmen get them and the magical torc first? Remember, only silver bullets can despatch Sterling for good... Ian Bell's The Beauty and the Blood spins a powerful web of terror, politics and the supernatural, while moments of real beauty make the story glow, and the sadness of a society at bay lends poignancy to a tale that at once repels and fascinates. Watch out for the appearance of the Hell Hound - and above all watch your neck!