As a wave of vampirism sweeps the world, a small but discordant group hole up in a country mansion in Victoria, Australia. A vampire, who has also occupied the mansion, offers them a deal: if they protect him from humans during the day, he'll protect them from other vampires at night. So begins an uneasy alliance which soon threatens to fall apart.

Melbourne, 1886. Two gentlemen climb into a hansom cab late one murky night. One man climbs out, the other travels on to St Kilda. On arrival, the driver finds the second man dead; murdered. The ‘high-society’ killing sends shockwaves through the young city, still flush from its gold-rush boom.

When John Doe is convicted of being a vigilante serial killer, a vigilante group named 'Speak for the Dead' emerges in support of John's cause—elevating the debate about justice versus vengeance.