- A friend of Duncan's is murdered in his pool. After his wake, Duncan notices an immortal named Nicholas Ward, who had once killed several people Duncan knew, arranging his victims to look like a vampire was responsible.
- Someone has murdered Duncan McLeod's friend Harry Pfeiffer, a mogul in the record business, although Harry's family believes that he drowned when swimming while drunk. While paying condolences to Harry's daughter Helene (Jeremy Brudenell), Duncan senses the presence of another Immortal whom he recognizes as white-haired Nicholas Ward (Jeremy Brudenell).
Duncan first met Nicholas Ward in Paris in the mid-1800s, a time when vampires were in fashion and vampire hysteria was rampant. After sharing drinks and discussing longterm investment in Bel-Aire Imports with its founders, Henry Jacom (Trevor Peacock) and William Stillwell (Trevor Peacock), Duncan stayed for another drink with Henry while William decided to leave. Seconds later, a scream was heard, and Duncan rushed outside to find that William had been murdered. Duncan gave chase to the murderer, whom he sensed was an Immortal, but he escaped, leaving behind only his calling card -- two puncture wounds on William's neck and a strand of black cashmere. Duncan met Nicholas formally a few hours later at the Jacom's house when Henry's daughter Juliette (Tonya Kinzinger) introduced him as the family's legal counsel. Also present was Alan Baines (Denis Lill), a vampire chaser. Baines was hired by Jacom to find the vampire responsible for murdering the third Bel-Aire founder, Charles Voight, several months earlier, just after their return from Transylvania. During that buying trip, Henry explains ashamedly, they ransacked an ancient church. One of the items they dug up was an ornately gilded coffin that they failed to open immediately. The next day, when they returned to open it, the coffin was gone. Henry is certain that a Transylvanian vampire is now in Paris stalking them. First Charles, then William. Would Henry be next? Not a believer in vampires, Duncan suspected immediately that Nicholas was the killer. That night, Nicholas struck again. He murdered Henry Jacom and made two holes in his neck with an icepick. Of course, Nicholas denied it when confronted. What would I have to gain, he asked Duncan. Just then, Juliette entered the room. After Duncan made his condolences to her, she announced that she and Nicholas were planning to be married. As Juliette will inherit Bel-Aire Imports, Duncan now knew Nicholas's motive. All Duncan needed was proof. If a strand of thread from Nicholas's black cashmere cape matched the ones found on all three bodies, that would be all Duncan needed to be certain, so he secured a strand from the cape and gave it to Baines to analyze. They were a perfect match. Baines, believing Nicholas to be a vampire, tried to dispatch him with a cross, holywater, and a stake through the heart. After pulling out the stake, Nicholas dispatched Baines. Unfortunately, when Duncan drew his sword against him, Nicholas managed to escape by hopping into a passing carriage.
And now, 150 years later, Nicholas is back in Paris, and Duncan fears that he is doing that which he does best -- murder. Watcher Joe Dawson informs Duncan that there have been three serial murders, the victims all connected by the fact that they attended an exclusive school in Switzerland. Duncan points out that Nicholas has a history of getting his money the old-fashioned way...by marrying it...so Duncan goes to the Wedding License Bureau and learns that his "brother" is marrying Helene, the heiress to Harry Pfeiffer's record business. After a few snags, like arriving too late to stop Nicholas from murdering Harry's partner and then getting questioned by the police because Nicholas gave Duncan's description as the murderer, Duncan shows up at the courthouse just as Nicholas and Helene are about to tie the knot. While Helene waits impatiently, Nicholas and Duncan go outside to "talk over some old business." Only Duncan returns. Duncan explains to Helene that Nicholas had to deal with responsibilities from the past that were more important than his own happiness. He and Joe then agree to meet later for drinks. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl.]
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