Sharon Colson is desperate. Stranded in the California coastal town of Los Niños de la Noche, she's broke, locked out of her rooming house, and needs a job. Jonathan Knottman, the local vampire, is the only one in town hiring but he won't take her on as a bartender without her becoming his vampire companion. With no other options Sharon accepts the mark of his fangs on her neck, and thus enters the parafolk world of the All Night Inn.
Over the course of the next few weeks Sharon learns many lessons from Jonathan—what brand of dog-food shapeshifters like to nibble on with their beer, the kinds of drinks spellcasters favor, and that he'd rather be known as a nightwalker than the politically incorrect term of vampire. As the parafolk celebrate the full moon with howls and dancing, she even learns to love him the way he loves her.
But the biggest lesson is one Jonathan and Sharon must both learn—that love cannot thrive unless it is based on trust, of yourself and your partner.