Vampire Count Eichner Wittgenstein spends his days knowing that every human companion will die before him and leave him alone with his rose garden and violin. Still, in the 18th century, he falls in love with a young human girl named Elizabeth. Torn apart from him by her arranged marriage, Elizabeth is reborn first in the 1990s and and then 2150, as the count searches for his lost love.

Also includes the short story "The Magic Box", about a diamond cutter who wastes his life away with his career, only to get one more chance.