Intro. At 16, Meirn is sent to live with her mother, Nora, whom she barely knows. The house is gloomy, dominated by the alcoholic environment of Nora and her stepfather, Rick. But the real terror is his half-brother, 18-year-old Dorian. Dorian is the popular king of high school; a thug of disturbing and dark beauty, compared to the cruelty of Billy Hargrove. From the moment he saw her, his icy gaze fixed on her with an unhealthy obsession. The cynical school bully focused his bullying on Meirn. Her teasing morphed into possessive whispers, threatening notes, and, worse, attempts at physical coercion that left her terrified. Meirn tried to talk, but Nora and Rick were living in convenient alcoholic denial ( "it's just the way he is" ). No one believed that the charismatic Dorian was weaving a web of harassment and control. Meirn is alone, trapped in that gloomy house with a beautiful monster