What if the fairy tale came true? In this moving and utterly convincing contemporary retelling of the beloved Beauty and the Beast tale, Susan Wilson brings to life a thoroughly modern woman who learns to look beyond a man's physical appearance to the beauty in his soul.

When Alix Miller travels to New Hampshire to paint Leland Crompton's portrait, nothing has prepared her for their first meeting. A writer of popular mysteries, Lee is hideously disfigured by a rare genetic disease - he's a recluse who interacts with the world only through his novels and his computer. He tells Alix that although he is willing to follow his wealthy family's tradition by sitting for a portrait, the painting will never be hung.

In the long hours of work that follow, deep in the wintry woods, Alix begins to discover the remarkable man beneath the disturbing exterior. They grow ever closer until Alix is suddenly called to attend her ailing father. Now both of them find themselves confronting their deepest fears. Can Alix really choose this man over her handsome, successful boyfriend? Lee must risk believing that Alix really sees the beauty within him and love himself enough to return to the world from which he has retreated.