Dante is invited with his half sister Lulu to a meeting of the 'Cadre Infernal' of which she is a member. The meeting takes place in a palace in the heart of Venice. Dante and Lulu arrive during the Carnival and Dante saves a girl from a pair of drunken aristocrats. A Captain Emmanuel introduces himself.

Dante is next seen in the meeting itself a den of debauchery and vice practiced by the rich and the powerful. He meets Camilla Le Fanu , the High Priestess of the cult who is bathing in human blood. Le Fanu suggest that Dante go with her friend Countess Magda Hollo, the dominatrix of Dusseldorf, for some 'discipline'. Dante is taken to a basement dungeon and Hollo tries to manacle him to a torture frame. Dante slips out of the bonds however and manacles the dominatrix instead. He leaves her in the basement and goes outside. He broods over the recent death of his wife Eloise.

Art by Charlie Adlard

The Tsar issues an invitation to the Romanovs and all the imperial houses to attend a gathering in the Imperial Palace. An important announcement is to be made. Dante turns up and is irritated to see yet another of the huge Billboards featuring an 'in flagrante' photo of him. The other guests at the party are much amused by it however. Mikhail Deriabin offers to make Dante 'Playmate of the month' on one of his Interactive Pleasure channels, Dante declines.

Dante meets Jena, whome he hasn't seen since the night of the great party celebrating their defeat of Valentine and the Darkstar. Dante teases Jena about that night,which as both of them got extremely drunk, neither can remember. However as they woke up in the morning unclothed and in the same bed ,both of them would really like to know. Dante eventually provokes Jena and she has her bodyguard challenge Dante, a Captain Rudi Arbatov, the Imperial Unarmed Combat Champion. An epic brawl ensues, that Arbatov is plainly going to win. Jena looks on with smug amusement. The fight ends up in the kitchen with Dante attempting every dirty trick that he know in order to shift the balance in his favour. Things come to a decisive end when Dante manages to trap Arbatovs genitals in a kitchen 'nutcracker'.

The Tsar while clearly amused by the fight continues to make his announcement. The engagement of his daughter Jena Makarova to Mikhail Deriabin.

The wedding is to take place within the month.

Art by Charlie Adlard

While attending a performance by the 'Danse Macabre' at the Bolshoi Theatre with his family, Dante become sinvolved with 'The Firebird' the legendary Prima Ballerina and unwittingly becomes her partner for 'The Phoenix' an intricte and impossibly complex danse that , should Dante fail to perform it flawlessly, he will be killed. While the Weapons Crest provided adequate instantaneous instruction, it unexpectedly fails near the end. Dante and the Firebird flee as the 'Danse Macabre' assassing attempt to cut Dante down to size. The couple flee accross Moscow persued by the Murderous dance troup and an army of Ballet fans after the illustrious Firebirds' autograph. In the nick of time they manage to board the Trans-Siberian Express which heads towards Romanov territory in luxurious style. Dante and the Firebird relax in the honemoon suite where she explains how hard her life of adulation and fame has become and they both commiserate over the fact that their erswhile love interests, Jena and Deriabin, are now getting married to each other.

Yet another of Dantes billboards in seen in the background.

Suddenly the Train comes under attack from the heavily armed Danse Macabre, intent apon retreiving their star. There is a fight in the Honeymoon suite and then the 2 are forced into running the gauntlet along the roof of the train itself. The Danse Macabre derail the train , throwing Dante and the Firebird into the snow and at the mercy of their assailants. Just then Dimitri and Konstantine Romanov appear and swiftly dispatch the murderous danse troupe. Dante and the Firebird have made it to Romanov territory, but things are not as they seem. The whole affair had ben orchestrated in advance by Dimitri in an effort to let the Firebird defect to the Romanof Dynasty and assume her position as head of the Romanovs newly aquired media empire. Dantes intervention had been a trifle more spectacular than expected, but the result was the same.

Dante is again left with the feeling of being manipulated.

Art by Andy Clark

In an age old family tradition , the family Romanov meet once a year at the Winter Palace to indulge in a Hunting Party. Even at play Dante finds his family to be rather more ruthless than he finds palateable. He volunteers to escort Jocasta back to the Winter palace, she too has no stomach for the hunt.

Jocasta Romanov despairs of her children and the bloodlust that Dimitri has nurtured in them. She reveals that Dimitri is in fact her brother and also the father of her children. Jocast is afraid that Dimitri would have her killed if he got the chance. All of a sudden the pair come under attack from 3 mercenaries, Snake Lonergan & Raul Duke accompanied by Skua Khan, a mongol Warlord trying to earn some money. All 3 hired by Dimitri to kill Jocasta. After a tough battle Dante dispatches Snake and Duke, while Jocasta proves to be surprisingly capable and kills Skua Khan unarmed, while Dante lies unconscious.

Art by John Burns

'On the same day of every year since 2667, Nikolai Dante without fail, dropped mysteriously out of sight'

While travelling to Rhudinstein to build a memorial for his lost wife Eloise, Dante passes thorugh Domacha Province, Governed by the Tsars' former Executioner, Andrei Volk.

Dante rescues a young couple on the run from Volk and his intention to have 'Prima Nocta- First Night' with the girl. They seek refuge in a church, but Dante seeking to prove a point to himself, challenges Volk to a duel without weapons, which Dante wins. The 3 head for Rhudinstein where the couple realise for the first time Dantes' true identity. Dante asks only that when the couples baby is born, if it is a girl, she should be called Eloise.

Art by John M Burns

The Pacific Ocean , north of the Bismark Archipelago. A Pirate ship 'The Marauder' stops and searches a slave ship 'The Querelle'. The Marauder is captained by Katarina Dante, the Pirate Queen, who has no truck with slave ships and orders Sarakin, the Captain of the Querelle, to release his captives. Sarakin has had the slaves doused with petrol and threatens to burn them alive. Suddenly a 3rd boat arrives and proceeds to ram the Querelle. Dante, in disguise, leaps from his boat and launches himself into the fray. Sarakin tries to take the opportunity to kill Katarina , but she dodges and uses her whip to hang Sarakin.

Katarina and her first mate Marguerite Dumas watch as Dantes boat disappears, speculating on the nature of her abandoned son. Just what kind of a man has he become?