One evening, they are out on the town when a young pickpocket, Daniel, tries to rob them. When he is caught, he reveals that he has been orphaned in the Blitz. Janette takes a fancy to the boy, and decides to adopt him informally. He is decently dressed, and lavished with presents. All seems idyllic, until Nick learns from a conversation with LaCroix that the older vampire is considering bringing Daniel over, just out of curiosity over the way so young a vampire would behave. Horrified, Nick warns the boy to flee; but he dare not explain why, and discovers shortly afterwards that he has been too late to stop LaCroix fulfilling his intentions.