When her father tries to steal magic from the mysterious, beastly master of the "Curse House" outside her home town, seventeen-year-old Beauty is the one who becomes a prisoner of the Beast in reparation. Will isn't anything like she expected. He's the same age as she is, for one thing. He's also really handsome, contrary to local legend. Well, maybe the whole "beast" thing is meant to be metaphorical, because he's a total jerk.

Between the house's weird magic and Will's snobby attitude, the situation is nearly unbearable, and Beauty only wants to escape. But there are ... complications. The witch who cursed Will left him a riddle to solve and four years to figure it out. And now that Beauty's become a part of this messed up fairy tale, she'd better help Will figure out the riddle so they can break the curse, or she's going to remain a prisoner in the curse house too.

Because the four years are almost up.