Killers of the Dawn is one of the novels in the Cirque de Freak series by author Darren Shan. The story follows the main character, narrator and author, Darren Shan, the Vampire Prince. Shan and his fellow vampires are on a hunt. The hunt is to find and kill the Lord of the Vampaneze, which is the vampire enemy in the War of Scars.

As Shan and his crew are hunting the Lord of the Vampaneze in the tunnels underground where the Vampets—half- vampires, half-humans—and Vampaneze—a species that is the enemy of the Vampires—live, they run into several obstacles. First, Steve Leopold, whom the crew calls Steve Leopard, is Shan's former best friend. After an accident at the Cirque de Freak, Steve holds a grudge against Shan because Steve thinks that Shan tried to kill him.

When Shan and his group enter the tunnels where the Vampaneze live, the Vampaneze take Debbie, Shan's ex-girlfriend, hostage. They hold her hostage until Shan and his crew are able to return and fight. In return, Shan and his group take Steve Leonard hostage.

Shan's group takes to higher ground to wait for nightfall to reenter the tunnels of the Vampaneze. While aboveground, however, the humans mistake the Vampire group for the killers of some humans in a previous attack, so the police and the army are hunting Shan and his group. Shan and some of his group are taken to prison, along with Steve Leonard. Steve kills some guards and nurses at the prison to escape. Shan, Crepsely and Harkat—fellow Vampires and a Little Person—also escape from prison, but are blamed for the deaths at the prison.

An angry mob of humans acting as vigilantes try to recapture Shan and his fellow escapees, but they manage to get back underground first. While underground, the crew battles the Vampets and Vampaneze to try to kill the Lord of the Vampaneze and win the War of Scars. Ultimately, Crepsley kills the one they think is the Lord of the Vampaneze. Steve Leonard, however, reveals that they killed a decoy and that Steve is the real Lord of the Vampaneze. Steve, however, escapes before anyone can kill him.