"Which level of Hell we had entered I could not say, but surely it must be the one level no one wishes to leave." When Rob learns that his step-sister, Beth, has become engaged to a man he has never met, he finds a job in Atlanta where he can be near her. Tough, charismatic, a soft-spoken womanizer who will do anything to protect Beth, who reciprocates his dedication, he contrasts with her. No one questions Rob's motives. Perhaps they should. On the surface, Rob and Beth appear to have little in common. She was the family's golden girl, figuratively and literally, while he grew up a troubled, moody child, but they forged a deep bond that few could explain but everyone could see. Her finance Rich, a high-flying banker with a bright future, they seem a perfect couple. But Rob is not so sure. Told in Rob's strong, first-person narrative, he inserts himself into all aspects of her life as he finds Beth's best friend Taylor an irresistible force, a woman every bit his step-sister's equal in all ways, yet while he views Rich as a worthy suitor for his sister, his determination to find out if looks are deceiving to everyone else quickly begins to prove prescient. Then things begin going all kinds of wrong. After an accident puts Beth in the hospital and Rob in charge, he shocks everyone by protecting Rich from blame for Beth's injuries and putting his sister's fiance in his debt. Rob sweetly and diligently nurses Beth back to health while embarking on a powerfully erotic relationship with Taylor. No one sees Rob's dark side, the secrets he keeps buried even from himself which have tormented him and molded him into the complex, conflicted man of convictions and powerful if warped morality that he is today. Nor is Beth the portrait of innocence people see. She turns to Rob for comfort as the wedding approaches and things spin out of control until Rich's bachelor party reaches shocking levels of debauchery, forcing Beth to face a tormenting decision that culminates in a shocking and erotic wedding night climax. If V. C. Andrews and E. L. James had a love-child, it would be My Stepsister.