Father Abel is sent to Istvan (Budapest), a city ruled by a vampire, Count Gyula Kadar, to find the "Star of Sorrow." Upon his arrival, he meets Sister Esther Blanchett, a troubled nun of whom he learns has killed one of Kadar's lieutenants to avenge the murder of her foster mother. Under the influence of a man named Dietrich von Lohengrin, Esther plans to carry out another assassination. However, Kadar's troops arrive, kill Dietrich, capture Abel and Esther, and proceed to burn down the church in which they were in.