In fifteenth-century Eastern Europe, Vlad III of Wallachia conducted a reign of terror. He had citizens impaled by the thousands. People were butchered on his merest whim. In his realm, and beyond it, men and women lived in dread of the Impaler Prince. And this Prince revelled in the horror he inspired.He was a sadist, seen by some as a being of unequalled depravity, even as the Devil’s own spawn. But Vlad was also a man who had the qualities of a great leader: strength, courage, intelligence and commitment to an ideal. He was a crusader against the infidel who considered himself a true warrior of Christ.Here, his story is told by four men whose lives overlapped with his; men who were influenced by him to the point of obsession. But it is also told by Vlad himself. The inner thoughts of the butcher of Wallachia are exposed. And there is much more to this sinister figure than many would have imagined.