Book excerpt: Gavin McManus is exact right person to be the lead singer of a band like Rogue. He's got the requisite disheveled good looks, confidence, and undeniable magnetism, but what sets him apart is the way he funnels the childhood pain of his mother abandoning him into wounded-rock-star mystique. Sophie Kavanaugh was drawn to Gavin long before he found fame. Her own desire to be what he needed, to somehow be the one to fix him, lasted beyond what should have simply been a memorable school-days romance. Their reunion several years later happens just as Gavin's band, Rogue, has made a splash in the college music scene, and there's no turning back. Over the course of three more albums and the next decade, Rogue earns their place as the biggest band in the world, while Sophie finds her own career as a model. They exude the outward appearance of the perfect rock star/supermodel couple. At the same time, Conor, Gavin's best friend and the band's guitarist, struggles to contain his deepening feelings for Sophie. But no matter what tests Gavin and Sophie face, their need for each other never wavers. It's what works for them. Until it doesn't. When the truth about Gavin's mother is revealed, the ensuing media storm and backlash sends him into a downward spiral that threatens to destroy everything he's worked for, including his marriage, his friendships, and his band.