A group of vampire lords — Henry, The Duke, Peter Boniface, Thomas, Angel, Chen and Alice — gather at a quiet rural farmhouse for a summit to discuss quotas. The gathering feels ceremonial yet perilous, with centuries of power and risk hanging in the air. Thomas is executed for going over quota and for taking children. Vanessa arrives late with Sebastian as her guest, proposing him as a replacement, but Peter Boniface objects.
Sebastian tries to escape and is easily caught. Rather than kill him immediately, they decide to keep him alive as food and secure him in the basement along with Mr. Thatcher and Mrs. Thatcher who own the farmhouse.
Meanwhile, nearby, Larousse, a religious man, urges the group to wipe out the vampires entirely. Bingham is motivated by profit, promised a large sum if he brings a vampire to a cosmetics company, and he aims to take at least one prisoner for scientific research. The strike team initially hesitates, surprised to find more than one “cold body,” but they press their attack. The vampires respond with machine guns and a brutal exchange of fire as the remaining soldiers close in. The breakout proves chaotic; [Chen] and [Alice] are killed, and [Vanessa] is captured. Peter, Angel and Henry manage to regroup back at the farmhouse.
Sebastian urges dialogue, suggesting that perhaps, like in Zulu, they might end the battle and walk away if given a chance. Larousse edges too close to Vanessa, who bites him in return. Henry accompanies a hooded hostage to negotiate, but Bingham shoots the hostage, escalating the danger. Vanessa, Henry, and Larousse are then hung out on frames outside; the rising sun will kill them, and the cosmetics company will perform skin tests on their bodies.
Sebastian emerges from the farmhouse freezer, revealing the hostage was actually Peter in disguise, covered with hot water bottles to simulate a warm body. Peter begins picking off the soldiers as the siege wears on. Exhausted and with little hope, Vanessa decides to end her own life. Sebastian and Private Bower briefly cross paths in the forest, and Sebastian suggests they continue on and pretend nothing happened. [Mr Thatcher] remains wary, and Thatcher warns there is something terrible in the forest before he attacks with a knife. Angel intervenes and kills Thatcher. Sebastian narrowly avoids capture as he stumbles upon army trucks and starts the engine, only to be halted by Angel. The two decide to press on together, seeking any chance of survival as dawn approaches.
Peter launches an assault on [Bingham], offering freedom for Henry only if he can seize the Duke’s territory and fulfill his quota. After Henry is released (and has only fed on animals, not humans for 600 years), he breaks his vow and attacks Bingham. The trio— Henry, Peter and Angel — escape in the army truck with Sebastian at the wheel, and a reluctant Sebastian is invited to become a vampire, though he says he’ll need time to think as they drive toward an uncertain horizon. Dawn arrives as three representatives from the cosmetics company arrive to extract a vampire sample from Bingham, who is mounted on a rack, and then burn him. They carry the extracted skin samples back to base to fuel their next rejuvenating product.
