Sparkles is the kind of thing you read when you should be reading classics. It’s the mediocre TV you watch when you tell your friends you were improving your mind by watching documentaries. It’s an escape from your own troubles into the realm of retail.

When the head of the Massot family disappears into the night he leaves his family wondering what happened. Pierre was the head of one of the great jewelry companies in Paris, wheeling and dealing, a sharp business man with a good eye he had built an empire. He left behind his timid English wife, a son that grows up to be a rather spoiled young man, his mother who loves to terrorize his wife, and a handful of mistresses. All of these characters are left wondering what happened and why.

It’s hard to like some of them. I realize that might have been the point, but I detested Pierre Massot in particular. He has several mistresses, not all of whom know about the rest, and a young, meek wife waiting in the wings, whom all of the before-mentioned mistresses hate. Tom, Pierre’s son, is much like his father. When we are first introduced to him, Tom’s wondering if maybe he keeps too many women but decides that what they don‘t know won‘t hurt them. He’s also furious with his mother for declaring his father dead, even though Pierre’s been gone for seven years.

Hugh Montfort is working for a rival jewelry house and just happens to be good looking as well as smart. He’s the complete package, but has put aside his personal life in favor of his professional. Hugh is famous for pouring his entire being into his work and the bigger and tougher the project, the more he enjoys it. But when he meets Sophie, his rival in the jewelry world, he beings to wonder if maybe he’s made the wrong choice despite his broken-hearted past.