The Embrace

Art Director Maxwell Turner ignores the nagging sensation that his life is anything but complete as his thoughts once again return to The Embrace. Ever since his art researchers brought him their pick for the next season's finale, Max has been uncharacteristically riveted. The Embrace, a solid gold sculpture from the late Hellenistic Period, is thought to illustrate Greek lovers Galen and Isaura. He is told that not much is known about the two, but that legends describe a childhood tragedy which had irrevocably wounded Isaura, shattering any future for physical love. Galen was said to have tried for one hundred years to heal her emotional wounds but was unable. All he could offer was his undying constancy and his eternal embrace. The sculpture of the nude lovers has been plaguing Max's mind for months and he can't wait to share it with his audience. But on opening night, moments before the gilded Galen and Isaura models can recreate the sculpture, the female lead is injured and can't go on. Max fears he has no other choice but to cancel the piece when a woman in gold emerges from the forested hillside and positions herself in the male model's arms. Max is utterly taken by the mysterious beauty. He longs to thank her but each night she slips into the arms of her counterpart just before the stage lights come up, inexplicably disappearing once the platform is dark. No one at the show knows who she is or why she is continuing the strange visits night after night. Her unusual behavior starts to worry the cast and crew, leading them to speculate that a supernatural force may be involved. Distressed by rumors the Galen model quits the show. In order to save his beloved finale piece Max is forced to take his place. Max investigates the woman's identity, his search leading him to suspect an eccentric local artist. And though the gallery owner swears that the artist is a terrible agoraphobic and couldn't possibly be the woman he's looking for, Max isn't convinced, and he shows up her next opening. Seeing Max the reclusive artist pleads to the gallery owner to keep her latest masterpiece veiled. She appears petrified as the cloth is ripped from her painting. The piece features two lovers in a passionate embrace; Max's Embrace. Max goes numb as he realizes that he has found the bizarre woman with whom he's grown so fascinated. An unforgettable romance begins, Max struggling to persevere despite Miranda's deep emotional problems. Though she is riddled with anxiety her talents are almost supernatural in magnitude. Max desperately wants to understand what happened to her but is terrified that he will be unable to cope with the truth.