This visionary debut spans the uncommon range of Anne Rice's voluptuous darkness, Salman Rushdie's literary provocation and Quentin Tarantino's violent hipness

What is Beauty?

To the men of the Hierarchate, it is death...and worse than death: A scent that rises each evening from the depths of the forest called Herwood, luring them to eternal damnation. To the women of the Hierarchate, Beauty is a rival, an enemy to be fought tooth and nail. Each night, the women bind their men, plugging their nostrils to protect them from the evil scent and keep close watch over their sleep.

In this astonishing first novel, part parable, part fantasy and all erotic adventure, Paul Witcover transports readers to an awesome world where the visionary and the voluptuous are at war. It is a world deeply strange and strangely familiar, a new literary landscape lying somewhere between the fabulous realms of Anne Rice and Salman Rushdie.