Initially, the content of the book Vampire can be confusing to its readers as it seems to be centered around werewolves. However, the story actually begins with a group of individuals who identify as vampires and are forced to leave their village due to humans moving into their valley. These "vampires" do not drink blood or possess immortality, but instead have the ability to transform into different animals, such as bats, wolves, snakes, and crocodiles. The transformation is stimulated differently for each character; the primary vampire, Toppei, changes into a wolf when he is scared or in the presence of the moon, while his younger sibling Chippei changes when he encounters anything round. Other characters transform when triggered by the scent of onions, the sight of a telephone pole, or other stimuli.
