What is Beauty?To men of the Hierarchate, it is death... and worse than death: a scent that rises each evening from the depths of the forest. Each night, the women bind their men, plugging their nostrils to protect them from the evil scent and keep close watch over their sleep.To Cyrus Galingale, Beauty is a girl named Rose -- a girl promised to him in Holy Patrimony. To Rose Rubra, the loveliest girl in Jubilar, Beauty is the life that awaits her as Cy's wife. To Rumer Illicium, voluptuary of the House of Illicium, Beauty is the passion she longs for and despairs of ever knowing. Enter a world illuminated by the courage of two very different women, and saved by the sacrifice of a man foolish enough -- and bold enough -- to love them both.