Fifteen-year-old Alison Shaw may not be beautiful, but she doesn't really care: She'd much rather read a good book than primp in front of a mirror. But Alison's gorgeous mother, Risa, knows that beauty can be a key to success and wishes only the best for her daughter-a wish that may come true after Risa marries widowed plastic surgeon Conrad Dunn. Conrad claims that he can turn Alison into a vision of loveliness, so the teenager reluctantly agrees to undergo the first procedure. Then Alison discovers a picture of Conrad's first wife and notes, to her horror, a resemblance between the image in the photo and the work her stepfather is doing on her. Though, Risa refuses to acknowledge the strange similarities, Alison digs further into her stepfather's murky past, uncovers dark secrets and even darker motives-and realizes that her worst fears are fast becoming reality.