In a rain-and-fog-drenched northern American city, Thora Tolson—born Perdita, a plain girl scarred across the face by a childhood bear attack—is the naive daughter of the sheriff and CEO of a timber empire. She unwisely marries Leland Coffey, an outsider hungry for power. Leland brings his niece Winslet into the house, and Winslet seduces Perdita's stepbrother Bishop, a football player, becoming her sister-in-law. Soon Leland and Winslet murder Perdita's father Killian in the forest, beat Bishop crippled in a stadium parking lot—costing him his left arm and leaving him comatose—then drug Perdita's cocoa and dump her in a lake. Their goal: the Tolson fortune. Perdita survives, has her scars removed and a beauty mark added, and becomes Thora. Over three years she masters makeup, rises to top stylist and fashion consultant, and founds Heaven Silva. Now Winslet, married to Leland, visits Thora's salon to hire her—and Thora plots to seduce her own former husband as step one of her revenge.