Elena Deveraux is a vampire hunter.  The best of the best, she is the woman Masters go to in order to find and capture their wayward vampire minions.  After a routine arrest and containment, Elena is notified that her presence is required the next day for another assignment. Upon finding out who has requested her, Elena’s heart beats a little bit faster and her instincts cringe.  She has been called to Raphael, the archangel in charge of New York and a winged celestial being feared by many, Elena included.  Failure to show up is not an option and so Elena travels to Archangel Tower to meet with the powerful but beautiful archangel, Raphael. 

Raphael’s assignment for Elena is simple but almost impossible – she is to hunt and kill not a rogue vampire gone awry but a rogue archangel. Raphael is used to being obeyed immediately and when Elena tests him, more than once, he finds himself almost amused.  His amusement doesn’t stop him from making sure that she knows exactly what will happen should she fail.  The more Raphael is around Elena, the more he feels human and this concerns him.  He seeks to find the answers to his dilemma while still craving Elena’s human touch which is forbidden and deemed wrong on many levels. 

Raphael and Elena’s relationship is the stuff with which ‘difficult relationships’ are based on.  Raphael is immortal and an archangel.  That means he is one of the Cadre of Ten, a celestial being with enough power to change history if he feels the need.  He was not human but Elena made him feel some aspects of humanity.  Raphael didn’t understand why but refused to allow anyone else to touch her.  She was his and his she remained.  Their feelings for each other run hot and cold and more than once I winced at Elena’s goading of her angel.