Shania Twain has risen from humble beginnings in a dirt-poor mining town in Northern Canada to amazing heights of superstardom. At the age of eight her mother was taking her to sing in lumberjack bars; now she shares a Swiss mansion and an estate in New Zealand with her record-producer husband and is worth more than $100 million. Hits such as "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" ensured that her third album, Come On Over, became the bestselling album in country-music history and her astounding crossover to mainstream music swiftly followed. Her life, however, has remained the subject of speculation and controversy.

British music journalist Robin Eggar has talked to Shania's close friends, family, business associates -- and to Shania herself -- to build an insightful, rounded portrait of a woman whose Cinderella tale has become a fable for our times.