Rose enters into Lissa's dream where she is sexually engaged with Christian. Feeling like she needs fresh air she goes outside to the school grounds where she finds Dimitri on duty and has a conversation with him about his life back in Siberia. Alberta calls Dimitri and Rose hides so that sh does not get caught being outside after curfew. She overhears that Dimitri will be attending Victo Dashkov's trial and she becomes angry with Dimitri because she feels as though she should also attend the trial.
The next day marks the start of the Guardian exams/Field experience and Rose is angry to learn that she is going to be protecting Christian and not Lissa, as was intended. She tries to argue with Alberta but eventually understand that this would be good experience for her when it comes to protecting Lissa. However, when the time comes for her to 'protect' Christian from the instructor's who are pretending to be Strigoi, Rose freezes because she sees Mason's ghost.
She is put on probation because Guardian Stan and Alberta believe that she refused to protect Christian as a way of getting back at them. However, Rose knows that she has seen a ghost and thinks she is going crazy so she begins to research on St. Vladimir and Anna. Anna was also Shadow-kissed and killed herself from becoming crazy. She also reads that ghosts can live up to 40 days if they have been killed brutally.
Adrian manages to get Rose and Lissa to go to Victor's trial at Court. There she worries that Victor will reveal that Dimitri and her nearly engaged in sex. Victor alludes to the idea of Dimitri raping Rose during the trial but nobody believes him. Rose then encounters a fortuneteller who tells her that she will witness death. The fortuneteller than tells Dimitri that he will lose what he values the most.
They return to St Vladimir's where Rose continues her Field Experience. During this time, Adrian and Lissa grow closer as they teach each other their Spirit magical abilities. Christina begins to get jealous and starts a fight with Adrian. Rose stops the fight and then has a vision of Lissa being hurt by Jesse Zeklos. She runs to find Lissa being tortured magically by Jesse as part of an initiation process to an exclusive Moroi club called the 'Mana'. Rose takes away the depressive angry thoughts from Lissa and attacks Jesse.
Dimitri takes her away and tells her that she is not evil and that he needs her. The two then engage in sex. As they are getting dressed and leaving Rose senses Strigoi nearby and realizes that they have broken through the school magical wards. Dimitri tells her to run and she does. She informs the other Guardians and a battle between the Damphir's and Strigoi issues. Rose and Christian both get involved in the fight and kill the Strigoi.
Some Moroi and Damphir are kidnapped and Rose suggests that the Guardians go after the Strigoi to save them. They trail the Strigoi back to caves near the school and start another battle. They are winning the fight when suddenly Dimitri falters in his fight and is bitten by a Strigoi before Rose's eyes. He has lost what he values most - his soul. Rose doesn't want to leave him but does.
She then leaves S Vladimir's and Lissa, to go kill Dimitri and save his soul. Lissa tries to stop her but Rose tells her that this is something she must do for herself.
