"A very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, crashes his car into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide--for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul. Then a beautiful and compelling, but clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name...

Alice Gunnersley and Alfie Mack sleep just a few feet apart from one another. They talk for hours every day. And they?ve never seen each other face-to-face. After being in terrible accidents, the two now share the same ward as long-term residents of St. Francis?s Hospital. Although they don?t get off to the best start, the close quarters (and Alfie?s persistence to befriend everyone he meets) brings them closer together. Pretty soon no one can make...