Marilyn Monroe stocked about 400 books on her shelves, and was once married to playwright Arthur Miller. A quick scan of the titles in her collection reveals that the image Monroe projected in her private life hardly squared with the theatrical character that made her famous.

Set this House on Fire by William Styron was one of the books Marilyn had in her private library.

The day after Peter Leverett met his old friend Mason Flagg in Italy, Mason was found dead. The hours leading up to his death were a nightmare for Peter - both in their violence and in their maddening unreality. The blaze of events which followed was, Peter soon realized, ignited by a conflict between two men: Mason Flagg himself and Cass Kinsolving, a tortured, self-destructive painter, a natural enemy and prey to the monstrous evil of Mason Flagg.