In a kingdom called the Dells, Fire is the last human-shaped monster, with unimaginable beauty and the ability to control the minds of those around her, but even with these gifts she cannot escape the strife that overcomes her world.

In the seventeenth-century court of King Charles II, Anne Hyde, the Duchess of York has commissioned a series of ten paintings of the most beautiful women in the entourage. She hopes her series will capture something much more than mere likenesses: they will capture beauty itself. But when the exquisite Emilia Lennox arrives at court, the duchess's mission takes an unexpected turn. Emilia is set on convincing the king to restore her husband's estate, taken from him over his family's treason. The king is willing to grant her request - but only if she becomes his mistress. To keep him at bay, Emilia adds a condition of her own: she will consent to the arrangement, but not until her portrait hangs among the duchess's famed Windsor Beauties. When Henry Greenhill - the ambitious principal assistant to court painter Peter Lely - is charged with painting Emilia's portrait, he sees it as a chance to step out of his master's shadow and make his name. But Henry's sitter proves strangely evasive, and he will need more than creative talent to capture this incomparable beauty on canvas ... From the bestselling author of The Lace Weaver comes this seductive story of rivalry, artistic passion and a woman bold enough to wield her beauty as a weapon.

Chelsea 1876: Jimmy Whistler stands on the cusp of fame, ready to astound the London art world with his radical paintings. At his side is Maud Franklin, his muse, lover and occasional pupil, sharing his house, his dazzling social life and his grand hopes for the future. But Jimmy's rebelliousness comes at a heavy price for them both as he battles a furious patron, challenges an influential and viciously hostile critic and struggles with a dire lack of cash. Before long a fight for survival is being waged through the galleries, the drawing rooms and even the courts – and Maud, Jimmy's Madame and closest ally, is expected to do her part. The Madame has problems of her own, however. Maud has fallen pregnant, and must now face the reality of what life with Jimmy entails. As the situation starts to unravel, as loyalties are sorely tested and bankruptcy looms, she has to decide what she wants. Who she is. What she is prepared to endure.