The Dead Girls' Dance recap

Armed vampire hunters led by Shane's father, Frank Collins, invade Glass House just after Claire learns that Michael is a ghostlike being bound to it. Frank's group kills the vampire Brandon, and Morganville's authorities blame Shane, imprisoning him and sentencing him to death. Claire and Eve pursue every possible ally, from Amelie and Oliver to Michael's vampire grandfather Sam, while Frank plans a broader attack under cover of the Dead Girls' Dance. Because Michael cannot leave the house in his existing state, he accepts Amelie's offer to make him a vampire. Newly able to act beyond the property, he joins the effort to stop Frank and save Shane. The friends disrupt the hunters' plan and rescue Shane; Frank ends in custody. Michael survives as a vampire, creating new tension with both Eve and Shane. Claire secures Amelie's protection, but the bracelet she receives also marks her as the Founder's subject and commits her to future service.

Previously: Sixteen-year-old Claire Danvers fled violent dorm bully Monica Morrell and moved into Glass House with Eve Rosser, Shane Collins, and Michael Glass. She learned that vampires secretly rule Morganville and that unprotected humans can be hunted. An old book put Claire between the Founder, Amelie, and her rival Oliver, the vampire owner of Common Grounds. Claire also discovered Michael's secret: a vampire attack killed him, but Glass House preserved him in a ghostlike state. He can become solid only at night and cannot leave the property. Before the household could recover from its struggle with Morganville's vampires, Shane's estranged father Frank arrived with armed vampire hunters. The first book ended with Frank's group attacking and taking control of Glass House, placing Michael in immediate danger and forcing Shane to face the revenge campaign his father brought back to town.

Frank Collins and his armed followers occupy Glass House, intending to use it as a base in their war against Morganville's vampires. They know Michael is not human and treat him as an enemy despite Shane's efforts to protect his housemate. Frank expects Shane to join the campaign, but Shane recognizes that his father's grief has become a willingness to sacrifice anyone nearby. Claire and Eve are trapped between the hunters inside their home and the vampires who will retaliate against everyone associated with them. Brandon, the vampire who previously threatened Claire, becomes one of Frank's targets. Claire tries to keep the household alive while finding a way to warn Amelie and prevent Frank's attack from bringing collective punishment down on them.

Frank's hunters kill Brandon, and the consequences fall on Shane. Morganville's authorities arrest him for the vampire's death and prepare to impose a sentence designed to satisfy the town's vampire rulers. Frank's role does not protect his son; his campaign has instead supplied both the accusation and the motive used against Shane. Claire and Eve seek help wherever they can, approaching the Morrell family, Oliver, and Amelie despite knowing that each has separate interests. Michael remains bound to Glass House and cannot simply accompany them. Sam Glass, Michael's grandfather and a comparatively young vampire, emerges as a potential ally who cares about Michael and retains more sympathy for humans than most of his kind. With Shane in custody, rescue now requires cooperation across the same human-vampire division that Frank is trying to turn into open war.

Shane remains imprisoned under a death sentence for Brandon's murder while Claire and Eve struggle to find anyone able and willing to intervene. The human authorities cannot overrule the vampires, and Amelie will not abandon Morganville's law without receiving something that preserves her control. Frank continues organizing a larger strike, using the unrest and a crowded student event called the Dead Girls' Dance as cover. Sam helps the friends understand the vampire factions and the narrow space in which they can act. Michael confronts the central limit of his existence: while he remains bound to Glass House, he cannot reach Shane or protect the others once they leave the grounds. Amelie offers a permanent way out, but it would transform Michael into a vampire and change his place among the people he loves.

Claire and Eve enter the dangerous confusion surrounding the Dead Girls' Dance while working to identify Frank's plan and reach Shane before his sentence is carried out. Alliances remain unstable: Oliver opposes Frank's attempt to destroy vampire rule but is still Amelie's rival, while Monica and the Morrells help only when their own position is threatened. Frank's attack risks killing bystanders as well as vampires. Michael decides that remaining a ghost confined to the house will guarantee his helplessness. He asks Amelie to make him a vampire, accepting the cost so that he can leave Glass House and take part in the rescue. The transformation gives the group a powerful new ally, but it also forces Eve to face what loving Michael now means and threatens the trust between Michael and Shane.

Now physically free of Glass House as a newly made vampire, Michael joins Claire, Eve, Sam, and their shifting allies in opposing Frank's assault and reaching Shane. The hunters' attack collides with Morganville's security response and the turmoil around the dance. Claire uses what she has learned about the town's competing authorities to keep the crisis from ending in a massacre, while Eve refuses to leave either Michael or Shane behind. Frank's claim that his violence will avenge his family has lost any power to persuade Shane; father and son stand on opposite sides. The effort prevents Frank from controlling the confrontation, but Shane's formal sentence still has to be stopped and Michael's transformation cannot be undone.

Claire and her allies stop Frank Collins's planned attack and rescue Shane from execution for Brandon's murder. Frank survives but is taken into custody, leaving Shane alive and back with the friends his father endangered. Michael's bargain with Amelie is permanent: he is now a vampire, no longer a ghost bound to Glass House, and can move freely through Morganville. His freedom saves the group, but it unsettles Eve's romance with him and Shane's long-standing hatred of vampires. Claire also enters a binding bargain. She accepts Amelie's personal protection and receives the Founder's bracelet, which deters lesser vampires while marking Claire as Amelie's subject. Glass House remains the four friends' home, but its relationships have changed. Michael must learn to live as a vampire, Shane must confront what that means for their friendship, and Claire owes service to the most powerful vampire in town.

Michael asks Amelie to transform him into a vampire, surrendering his ghostlike half-life so he can leave Glass House and help save Shane. The change gives him freedom and a durable body, but it also makes him part of the kind of being Shane hates and complicates his relationship with Eve. Claire, Eve, Michael, and their allies prevent Frank Collins's campaign from destroying its targets and rescue Shane from Morganville's death sentence for Brandon's murder. Frank's revenge fails and he ends the crisis in custody rather than in control of his son. Shane returns to his friends alive, although his father's choices and Michael's transformation leave lasting damage. Claire accepts Amelie's personal protection and wears the Founder's bracelet, gaining security from ordinary vampire predation at the price of being bound directly to Morganville's ruler. The four Glass House residents remain together, but their household now includes a vampire and Claire owes service to Amelie.