This concept helps explain the incredible breadth of Shakespeare's output, which many scholars now contend was actually the work of several different writers. Also explained herein is the identity of the Bard's so-called "Dark Lady": a zombie hunting babe named Kate who’s good with a sword and isn’t afraid to give the living dead what-for. It's not only vampires that are loose in this novel's late-1500s London, you see, as flesh-eating zombies also litter the land. Most people mistake the living dead for plague victims, but Kate and Shakespeare know the truth.

     These two initiate a passionate romance, even though Kate is unaware of her lover's true nature. He’s understandably reluctant to reveal that nature to her, and so is stuck with a moral conundrum.

     There's also the problem of the individual who caused the zombies to rise. This person, it turns out, is very much at large, and hostile to our heroes. It all winds up in a theater wherein Shakespeare is expected to emote--no big deal, except for the fact that the audience is packed with zombies!