WELCOME TO THE MIDNIGHT WORLD In the year 8466 of the cainite calendar, in the aftermath of a catastrophic global economic crisis, the vampire tribes came out of the shadows for the first time in more than 2,600 years and revealed themselves to an unsuspecting humanity. With near-complete control of the media, the national governments, the global financial system, and most of the major international institutions, humanity was helpless to resist the vampiric bid for power. A dark world order was established. The global monetary system was replaced with a new currency backed by human blood, and a global tax was introduced to ensure humanity's new rulers that their endless thirst would never again go unslaked. The Great Concord of Gomorrah was established to secure the rights and duties of Man and Vampire alike. Under the protection of the Concord, an astonishing array of famous, infamous, and downright notorious figures emerged from the annals of history and were revealed to have survived their apparent deaths through the Rites of Cain. But as an ocean of blood flowed freely through the new global economy, long-dormant vampire rivalries were reborn in new forms. But not all humans submitted to the Great Concord, and more significantly, not all human blood proved to be palatable to Mankind's cruel overlords. For some of the ancient legends turned out to be true. Drawing inspiration from the crusading orders of the Middle Ages, twelve young men joined together in a new military order, The Knights of Saint Michael and of the Catacombs of Rome. Armed with little more than their faith and blood that is poison to their enemies, The Knights of Saint Michael wage a desperate war against the vampire lords of the Midnight World.