Anita Blake is an "animator" ­ someone who literally raises the dead for a living for a company called "Animators, Inc." Based in St. Louis, Anita has the power not only to raise zombies out of the ground, but also to exert a special control over any undead creature.

Though she was born with a natural talent for animation and raised and reanimated several dead animals when she was a child, Anita learned to control her abilities with the help of her grandmother, a Vaundun priestess, who gave her the skills she would need to become a professional animator. Anita also has a bachelor's degree in preternatural biology. But Anita Blake is better known for her other profession ­ vampire hunting. Nicknamed "the Executioner" by the vampire underworld, Anita has worked with both the police and other hunters to bring violent vampires to justice. In the early days, she only needed evidence of violence to do her job. But since the decision of the United States Government to declare vampires, lycanthropes, and other undead and supernatural beings as legal citizens, the rules for vampire execution have become stricter, and Anita often requires a warrant before she can kill a vampire.