This book is an invitation to a life of love and prayer. Walter Hilton was a 14th-century English mystic in the tradition of Roland Rolle and Julian of Norwich. Union with God, in Walter Hilton's eyes, is not achieved in an instant. The transfiguration of the soul is rather the result of perseverance and effort. Hilton sees an unbroken ladder leading upwards from our common human nature to perfect life in God. The ascent of the soul up the ladder is gradual, conditioned by God's grace and the individual's determination, whatever the hardships experienced. The result is the transformation of the soul from a dark, false image into the beauty of a child of God. The book is adapted for the modern reader.