Erik Duvall is half the man he used to be. The war took its toll on him—most noticeably on the right side of his face. He's scarred, but those scars run more than skin deep. He's repulsed by himself and assumes everyone else must be too. That's why he hides himself away from the world. The only thing that keeps him sane is his music.
He's a well-known composer in the musical world even though he hoards his compositions close to his heart, refusing to let anyone perform them for fear they won't do them justice. He tells himself that staying hidden in the shadows and composing music is enough for him, but when he sees Harper Young on the morning news, he suddenly wants like he's never wanted before. Harper's pure soprano is like nothing he's ever heard. She's an angel in the flesh, and he suddenly knows who he wants to perform his symphony.
But Harper is young and beautiful and everything he's not. He knows he can't have her the way he really wants her, so he contents himself with being her teacher.
And it's enough that she sing for him—only for him.
That's what he tells himself anyway.
