What does it take to become an artist? What does it take to put raw paint on a canvas and create something that can stir the heart and lift the spirit? That is the essential question at the heart of this stunning and insightful novel. It traces the evolution of Norman, a dentist perfectly able to fill a tooth or craft a crown, but whose dreams of becoming of a great artist are stymied by his emotional rigidity and his "by the numbers" dentist mindset. But then, out of the blue, a furious hurricane sweeps into Norman's well-ordered life, in the form an ornery, cantankerous, foul-mouthed artist and teacher named Kelly. The man is repulsive and abusive, free-spirited and excessive - and exactly what Norman's needs: a mentor who reaches deep inside Norman and brings forth the artist just waiting to be born.