A MASTER OF THE MYSTERIOUS Pierce was an austere and solitary figure, a magician who had dazzled and entranced audiences all over the world. Only one woman, Ryan, had guessed the pain that lay behind his art, the past he had chosen to conceal behind the flash and the glitter. His unhappy childhood had taught him to rely on nothing. Yet Ryan was determined to offer him the only truth she knew: Their love was no illusion.