Following in the entourage of Lord Alexander (the ousted Prince of Paris), Rosamund of Islington finally arrives at the court of Jürgen in Magdeburg. Rosamund knows Jürgen from her first diplomatic assignment, when a gift from the Queens of Love went awry. Rosamund was fascinated by Jürgen, and now finds herself torn between him and Alexander.
Alexander has become completely besotted with Rosamund and can't abide anything but complete devotion and obedience. Both of these traits do not come easily to the trained diplomat, and Alexander quickly reveals a petty and vengeful side that frequently takes more of his time than his efforts to get support in retaking Paris. If he cannot control Rosamund he is quite happy ruining everything around her.
Jürgen, who is everything that Alexander is not, is also torn. Not only is he attracted to Rosamund, but he also has been drawn into the Hungarian wars with the pagans. And at home he must defend himself from Alexander's political maneuvering. No matter what he does do, something else suffers.
If this sounds a lot more like a medieval historical romance than a vampire story you would be absolutely right. If it weren't for Alexander's powers as a millennia old vampire, and the presence of a Tremere blood sorcerer, the tale could have been about and court in the dark ages.
I've muttered about this before. Vampires are occult creatures both grim and grisly. There is an upper limit to how much they should imitate the life they have left behind. And they need to do things that make readers think 'Vampire!' on a regular basis. This means more than sipping delicately from a courtier's neck. The decision is yours to make, but there is very little horror or occult in the halls of Magdeburg. The book is well written, it advances the theme of the series, but it's more a tale for vampires, than it is a vampire story.