Brad Pitt, right, and Angelina Jolie arrive at the premiere of "Inglourious Basterds" in Los Angeles on Monday, Aug. 10, 2009. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Matt Sayles)

MONTREAL - A tell-all author who chronicled Michael Jackson's last days has set his sights on celebrity power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in a new book out just in time for Christmas.

Transit Publishing, which is releasing "Brangelina" on Dec. 1, says author Ian Halperin went undercover at "great personal risk" to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Pitt and Jolie.

The publishers say the book tells the story behind Pitt's breakup with actress Jennifer Aniston and Jolie's volatile life.

They promise the real story behind Jolie's metamorphosis into one of Hollywood's most influential philanthropists and United Nations goodwill ambassador.

Halperin is said to have conducted "intimate interviews with those closest to the stars" to get his material and the book is a "critical, gripping, shocking, yet sympathetic" portrait.

Halperin, a Montreal native, recently released "Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson," which became a New York Times bestseller.