Something strange is going on...
All over the world, pain is manifesting itself as light. Cuts blaze and flash. Arthritic joints glow. Injured troops emit white shards into the desert night. On the news, they're calling it 'The Illumination'. As this breathtaking phenomenon takes hold, a private journal of love notes passes into the keeping of Carol Anne Page, a lonely hospital patient, and from there through the lives of five other people. Each of them will find their lives changed forever, over a story that spans decades and continents, a story that shines a spectacular light on the wounds we all bear...