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In late 20th-century San Francisco, a vampire named Louis de Pointe du Lac recounts the story of his life to a young interviewer (referred to throughout the story as “the boy.”) His story begins In the 18th century, when Louis is a wealthy plantation owner near New Orleans. After the sudden death of his religious brother, Paul, Louis is overcome with guilt and despair, falling into a deep depression. While contemplating suicide, Louis is attacked by the vampire Lestat, and turns into a vampire himself. Louis is originally intrigued by his new life, but soon realizes that eternal life comes with its own torment.  

Lestat manipulates Louis into allowing him and his sickly father to live with Louis at the Pointe du Lac plantation, and Louis grows to hate him. Louis resists killing humans for sustenance and survives by consuming animal blood, while Lestat kills without remorse and offers no guidance or insight into vampirism for Louis. As Lestat’s father is dying, the enslaved people on the plantation become suspicious of Louis and Lestat. Out of desperation to keep their secret, Louis and Lestat destroy the plantation and kill the enslaved people. They take shelter for a night at the home of Babette Freniere, a local plantation owner who Louis admires and supports. But Babette discovers they are vampires and becomes fearful of them, forcing Louis to once again confront his vampirism.

They relocate to New Orleans proper, where in a moment of weakness, Louis drinks from a young orphan girl named Claudia. Lestat then turns Claudia into a vampire in order to bind the three of them together into a makeshift family, further strengthening his control over Louis. Although Claudia becomes more intelligent and mature with time, she remains trapped in a child’s body, and she despises Lestat’s control and manipulation. She becomes desperate for independence and attempts to kill Lestat by feeding him poisoned blood. Believing he has died, Claudia and Louis prepare to flee to Europe—but before they can depart, Lestat returns, murderous  with fury. Their final fight ends in the house burning down, and Louis and Claudia board a ship, leaving Lestat for dead.

Louis and Claudia travel to Eastern Europe hoping to find others like them. Instead, they find crumbling ruins, terrified villagers, and mindless, decaying vampires. Disappointed, they move on to Paris where they encounter a group of vampires who run a disturbing theater troupe called Théâtre des Vampires. In the troupe, they perform real murders on a stage for live audiences. The group is led by an intense, intelligent vampire named Armand, and he takes an immediate interest in Louis. Armand offers companionship and understanding, something Louis hasn’t felt in decades. While Louis becomes closer to Armand, Claudia grows afraid that Armand will take her place in Louis’s life.

Rumors spread and the troupe suspects Claudia and Louis of killing their sire, Lestat. Because she fears abandonment, Claudia convinces Louis to turn a grieving woman named Madeleine into a vampire to care for her in case he leaves her. Although he has always resisted creating other vampires, he finally gives in and transforms Madeleine, feeling conflicted by his devotion to Claudia and his guilt over condemning another soul to eternal life.
With Madeleine as a newly turned vampire, Louis and Claudia are planning their next steps when the vampire theater troupe captures all three of them, intending to punish them for the attempted murder of Lestat. To Louis’s shock, Lestat is there, alive, weak, and thirsty for revenge. Claudia and Madeleine are locked in a sun-exposed chamber, where the rising daylight burns them alive, and Louis is sealed in a coffin behind a wall. Armand rescues him the following night, and Louis rushes back to the theater to find Claudia and Madeleine have been reduced to ash. Devastated by the loss of his “daughter,” he burns the theater to the ground with the vampire troupe still inside. 

Louis leaves Paris with Armand, and they visit ruins of ancient cities in Europe and Asia. During this time, Louis hopes to find meaning or companionship, but he continues to feel emotionally numb and unfulfilled. Years later, they visit New Orleans, where Louis is now an outcast among vampires due to his role in killing the theater troupe.

While wandering the familiar streets, Louis senses that Lestat is nearby. He starts following a young vampire through the city and eventually watches as the vampire kills a woman and steals her infant. Louis follows the vampire into a rundown house where he finds Lestat, barely recognizable and incredibly frail. Lestat is elated to see Louis and believes he has returned for good. He mourns with Louis over Claudia’s death and expresses regret for turning her into a vampire in the first place. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Lestat begs Louis to remain with him and asks how he manages to endure an immortal life. Louis tells Lestat he isn’t staying and walks away, at last finding some closure from their toxic relationship.

As Louis walks with Armand, he tells him about his visit with Lestat, and Armand asks whether Louis feels anger or revenge. Louis says he feels nothing and shares that Lestat is dying slowly, like a human. When Armand asks about Claudia’s death, Louis asks if Armand was the one who left her and Madeleine to die in the sun. Armand doesn’t answer but looks remorseful. He admits that he once hoped Louis would embrace their darkness together, but he now sees that Louis has grown distant and unreachable. Louis rejects that idea, saying he could never share Armand’s worldview. After this final exchange, Armand walks away and never returns. Louis places Armand’s coffin beside his family’s grave and destroys it.

In the present, the interviewer is in awe, telling Louis that mortals could never have the adventures that he has had. To Louis’s surprise, the interviewer pleads to be made into a vampire. Louis pins him to the wall and demands to know if he truly understands what he’s asking. The man cries and continues to beg, until Louis relents and drinks his blood. The interviewer passes out, then wakes up to sunlight and a bite mark. As he sits alone, he listens to the tape again, hears Louis’s voice saying Lestat’s name and location, and rushes out with his recorder, eager to find Lestat.

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