A novel of occult horror, Children of the Night tells of a struggle with dark beings from a mythic netherworld. They appear seemingly at random, consuming ordinary men and women to feed their voracious appetites. Such evil beings are shown as self-maintaining and eternal, not symbols of dangers in the social sphere.

Still, their rampage through Manhattan uses a menacing atmosphere to suggest there are destructive lifestyles in the city. The first victims, for example, die after a party where they try a buffet of psychoactive drugs.

But not all unusual ways of life are destructive. The protagonist, Diana Tregarde, is a witch. Her close friends Lenny and Keith, who also get pulled into the psychic battle, are a gay male couple. And Andre LeBrel, who first challenges the evil Master Jeffries and is almost killed thereby, is a vampire.

There is also a gypsy clan...