Queen Of The Damned starts with the surprising revelation that the Vampire Lestat is due to give a performance with his rock band. He is causing a stir amongst vampires young and ancient by revealing the dark secrets about Those Who Must Be Kept.

Marius has travelled to New York to find out more about the upcoming concert, however a shock awaits him when he returns to the secret home that he shares with the unmoving Akasha and Enkil in the icy northlands. Akasha has gone and Enkil is an opaque and lifeless husk. Akasha has drunk Enkil dry of his powerful blood! But she has not yet gone. She tells Marius of her plans to find Lestat and then she makes a violent departure, wrenching steel doors off their hinges and plunging Marius deep beneath the ice where he is trapped.

Pandora's Quest

Pandora, and ancient vampire made by Marius, has been sensing alarming messages about some kind of approaching danger. She travels to India to meet Azim and ask for his help. Azim is also an old and very strong vampire. Azim tells Pandora of the messages that he himself has received: that Marius lies trapped beneath the ice.

• The Queen Of The Damned (book)
• Queen Of The Damned (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)
• Queen Of The Damned Movie Poster
• Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack

Armand And Daniel

Meanwhile, the story follows Daniel's encounters with the vampire Armand (read about Armand and Daniel). Armand falls in love with a mortal who was initially Armand's plaything. Armand had previously made a vow that he would not give the Dark Gift to anyone. However, through fear of the omnipresent danger to all vampires that stalk them in this story (find out more about that later!) and his love for Daniel, he breaks his promise and transforms Daniel.

All around the world, vampire covens are being destroyed whilst those vampires who stay close to Lestat appear unharmed. Is there a link? Is Lestat somehow orchestrating this distruction? Nobody knows, but as Lestat gears up for his performance, vampires from far and wide find themselves drawn to San Francisco where Lestat's concert is due to take place.

Undeniably linked to the imminent danger is the repeated occurrence that most of the vampires - and Daniel - have of an eery dream. This dream involves two red haired twins who are captured by soldiers as they prepare a meal. But this is no ordinary meal. It consists of their mother roasting on a spit. Whilst the burned carcass hangs on the spit, they have a plate each: one with a brain on it, the other with a heart. It is then that the soldiers arrive. The dream is remembered in snippets. Other snippets show the twins walking wearily through a scorching desert, with no respite from the buring sun. The weird thing is that this is a dream shared by all who are seemingly in danger.