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The book, 'The Queen Of The Damned' begins with the chapter, 'Declaration In The Form Of Grafitti' which is written by modern-day vampire fledglings on the walls of vampire bars. They inform others that the books 'Interview With The Vampire' and 'The Vampire Lestat' are real, and Lestat is making a mockery of their secret order. They want to punish him and urge all vampires to gather at 'The Vampire Lestat' concert to kill him and all those who show him allegiance.

Marius returns to his icy sanctuary where he protects 'Those Who Must Be Kept', the king and queen of all vampires, Akasha and Enkil. Only to find the remains of Enkil, transparent and lifeless with all his blood drained from the neck. He smashes to the ground and shatters like glass when Marius reaches out to him. It is then that Akasha appears, awakened by Lestat's music, strengthened by Enkil's blood. She abandons Marius as she destroys the building leaving him trapped and injured. Her goal: to seek out Lestat to be her prince so they can rule the world together.

When Marius loses consciousness, aware of a strange dream, "a lovely dream of warm sun shining on a grassy clearing. Yes, the blessed sun. And the women, how lovely their red hair. But what was it, the thing that was lying there, beneath the wilted leaves, on the altar?"

The Legend Of The Twins is explained gradually throughout the book (although it is not to be featured at all in the film). All the key vampires are troubled by this dream, it is unsettling to them. Who is sending it?

We are then told the story of: Baby Jenks - a troubled young teenager made a vampire by Killer from The Fang Gang - a modern biker vampire coven; The Goddess Pandora - a fledgling of Marius, whose glutinous companion, Azim, disgusts her; Daniel - Louis' interviewer in 'Interview With The Vampire' who is discovered, seduced and eventually made a vampire by Armand; Khayman - one of the First Brood, whose story is the saddest of all vampires and eventually Jesse - raised by her mysterious aunt Maharet and her companion Mael. We begin to connect the Legend Of The Twins with Maharet and her Great Family.

Lestat has been taken by Akasha, the queen of all vampires, who he woke from her trance-like sleep with his music and story-telling lyrics. He is torn between complete adoration for her and her powerful blood and fear of her terrifying plan for world domination.

She killed all the vampires intent on destroying her precious new prince, leaving the few who Lestat knows and loves to be her angels if they also choose to follow her. She has a vision to rule the world and destroy most of the male population leaving women to be the peaceful majority. She insists that this was the only solution to end male-led wars and greed. She loves Lestat deeply and tries desperately to bend his will to hers. Lestat battles with his conflicting emotions and pleads for her to reconsider, or even wait. She refuses and is frustrated and upset by his reaction, threatening to kill him if he does not support her.Meanwhile, the remaining vampires are gathered at Maharet's house and their dream featuring The Legend Of The Twins is explained. This explains what happened to them:

Maharet and Mekare were twin sisters, from a Palestinian tribe who lived during the Egyptian reign of Akasha and Enkil. They also had special powers - they were witches who could control the rainfall and had a very strong link with the spirits, particularly a dangerous spirit called Amel. Their religion required them to consume their dead mother's brain and heart in a cannibalistic ceremony but Akasha and Enkil's soldiers intercepted before they could fulfil their task.

They were forcefully taken to Akasha and Enkil's court, where Akasha questioned them about their powers and beliefs. Akasha ordered her court steward, Khayman, to rape them to see how the spirits would react - which infuriated them. Then they were freed. As a result of her sexual attack, Maharet became pregnant and give birth to a daughter, Miriam.

The soldiers came again, led by Khayman, telling them of a terrible curse which had befallen the Egyptian King and Queen.

The angry spirit of Amel had tormented Khayman's household and Enkil and Akasha had decided to confront him and question him. They locked themselves in Khayman's house for two days and night surrounded by the poltergeist activity Amel was causing. Conspirators, (the old families, the flesh-eaters, who Akasha disapproved of) had broken into the house and almost stabbed Akasha and Enkil to death. At this point, Amel, who hungered for blood, entered Akasha through her bloody wounds and his spirit consumed her body, allowing her to live. But she was tranformed into a creature who required blood to survive and who could not exist in daylight (I'm not sure what the reason for that is - anyone?). She immediately gave Enkil her new supernatural blood and he was transformed too. They had became the first ever vampires.

The twins were brought to the bedchamber of the royal couple at night and were shocked with their captors' new monstrous appearance. Akasha demanded to know what the spirit had done to them - why did they feed on three to four men at night yet they were still tortured by thirst? When it was explained that for the spirit to die then they would die too, as a "New Thing" was formed, Akasha and Enkil asked the witches if they were now devine beings, blessed with gifts that only gods share. When Mekare remarked that this new condition would very likely pass to anyone, the phenomena would be duplicated, Akasha was furious. It was at this point where she decided her destiny was now to "learn to cope with the designs of Heaven" and that there was no no need to listen to "those mere mortals who have not such powers as we have".

So the twins were to be punished. Maharet had her eyes taken from her, and Mekare's tongue was torn out. She managed to shout out this final curse to Akasha:

"Let the spirits witness; for theirs is the knowledge of the future - both what it would be, and what I will! You are the Queen of the Damned, that's what you are! But I shall stop you, if I must come back from the dead to do it. At the hour of your greatest menace it is I who will defeat you! It is I who will bring you down. Look well upon my face, for you will see me again!"

"Let the spirits witness; for theirs is the knowledge of the future - both what it would be, and what I will! You are the Queen of the Damned, that's what you are! But I shall stop you, if I must come back from the dead to do it. At the hour of your greatest menace it is I who will defeat you! It is I who will bring you down. Look well upon my face, for you will see me again!"

At night, before they were to be burned, they were visited by a transformed Khayman, distraught because he was also made into a vampire, unwillingly. He offered the new Dark Gift to them both, for their survival and so they could get their revenge on Akasha and Enkil. Mekare took his blood first and then she gave hers to her sister. That night Khayman helped them escape. During this time, Maharet learned that she could steal the eyes from her victims to see. Khayman was so angry that he gave his power to anyone who wanted it. He was trying to build an army of worthy enemies against the King and Queen.

They were gone for only two weeks when they were recaptured. Khayman escaped, but as the King and Queen feared that by destroying the twins' bodies, they would feel the same pain, they ordered that they be separated. Maharet's new eyes were again ripped from her sockets and she and her sister were sealed in separate stone coffins which were placed on rafts; one set adrift Eastward and the other Westward. Maharet eventually escaped her stone prison when she came ashore on the Eastern coast of Lower Africa. From there on she began her endless search for her mute vampire twin, Mekare. For six millennia, Maharet endured her vampire existence without the need to go into the ground or go mad. She instead kept a watchful eye on her descendants from her daughter Miriam to modern day Jesse.

Her prediction was that the dream was coming from her sister Mekare and it was a warning to Akasha: she was coming to fulfill her curse.

As all the remaining vampires discuss the impending confrontation they are about to face with Akasha and Lestat, they express their worries about their own mortality. They know that they live because Akaska lives.

Akasha later turns up with Lestat, telling the vampires in Maharet's house of her plan to rule the world with Lestat as her prince, to have them as her angels and to create world peace by slaughtering 95% of earth's male population. Of course, everyone finds this idea ludicrous and plead with her to reconsider or wait. The argument continues throughout the night, and Akasha becomes very angry.

Soon, the vampires from The First Brood hear distinct footfalls coming nearer, glass being smashed and then someone ascending the stairs. Akasha stood up, frightened - her confidence gone due to the lack off support from the vampires. Khayman and Maharet know who it is. Suddenly, at the door, appears a filthy creature - a woman, modestly dressed in sack material, caked in mud, green wild eyes glaring at Akasha.

Maharet shouts her name: "Mekare!"

Mekare, crazed by her thousands of years of searching endlessly and digging herself from the ground has found the woman she had cursed all those years ago. She doesn't even see Maharet and merely pushes her aside when her sister tries to grab her. She is entirely focused on acting out her revenge on Akasha.

She is a vampire with equal strength to Akasha. Her filthy hands push Akasha through a pane of glass causing the falling shards to decapitate her. Almost as soon as this happens, the younger vampires feel life ebbing away from them - Akasha is their lifeforce after all.

Mekare and Maharet know what to do. They remove Akasha's heart and brain and Mekare eats both, consuming the spirit of Amel.

Mekare becomes the new 'Queen of the Damned' and she has saved the remaining vampires from death. And she has fulfilled her curse.

It is not clear what happened to Mekare after this. Maharet cleaned her, and clothed her and they became close again. Lestat saw them walking arm in arm, Maharet whispering in her mute sister's ear, and he felt sadness for them. Maharet took Mekare away.

The good thing about all this was that it reunited Lestat with his beloved friends - Louis, Gabrielle, Armand, Marius. Marius was reunited with Pandora and Armand and Maharet was reunited with her long lost sister Mekare.