its heart are two extraordinary lovers, separated by tragic circumstances,

yearning for each other, yet seemingly never able to be together again.

Nick and Lauren can never

forget each other. Teenage small-town lovers -- he from the wrong side of the

tracks, she the prettiest girl in town -- their love was the town scandal,

forbidden, sizzling and unforgettable, ending abruptly in a tragedy that sent

them into separate orbits.

Nick pursues his dream of acting, and after a series of

wild adventures begins the slow rise that will make him one of Hollywood's

biggest stars.

Lauren goes to New York and enters the modeling world,

surprising everyone with a career that takes off in a direction she never

expected.

American Star follows them both on their trips to fame, as

Nick and Lauren, haunted by the secret they

share, try to live without each other -- only to find they can't.

American Star is a compelling story of love, sex and murder, set

against the glamorous backgrounds of New York and Hollywood, as only Jackie

Collins can tell it.