Mr. Quinlan, a product of a hellish vampiric ritual gone wrong, seeks to destroy the Master, the powerful vampire who sired him. After he is forced into hiding in the ancient Roman hillsides, he is captured and raised in the arenas as a gladiator. Winning his freedom as a champion against the will of the emperor, Mr. Quinlan is smuggled to Africa to battle foreign hordes. He must survive long enough to carry out his mission - but then his target begins hunting him. Acclaimed comics writer David Lapham traces the dark origin tale of the popular character from the television series The Strain.