It doesn't take much to make shy, quiet Liv Mirdeen blush. But she's smart. That's how she landed one of the most competitive internships in the country---at the New York Times. Needless to say, things aren't going as she expected. Instead of getting editors coffee and editing obituaries, she's been assigned to be the research assistant of the mysterious, infuriating, and gorgeous Simon Black. He's working on a secret story for the Times, one he won't even explain in full to her, and it's got her curious. Almost as curious as she is about Simon himself, whose hot-and-cold routine has her going crazy. As she gets dragged deeper into the mystery of what's turning out to be the biggest scoop of her life, Liv realizes that this isn't just any story. It's something bigger and more sinister than she could have ever imagined. And she just might be the missing link.

Blaire Travers is only coping. With an alcoholic mother, a struggling younger brother, and a dead father, the timid sixteen-year-old finds herself with caught between three roles: mother, caretaker, and teenager. Constantly teased at school for her plains looks and shy personality, the pen and paper become her only companion. Things get harder, until one day, a sympathetic teacher offers her a chance she can't ignore: enter her school essay contest, titled "Defining Beauty".