MODERN et CONTEMPORARY FICTION (POST C 1945). "In Vendela Vida's taut and mesmerizing novel of ideas, a woman travels to Casablanca, Morocco, on mysterious business. While checking into her hotel, the woman is robbed of her wallet and passport-all of her money and identification. Though the police investigate, the woman senses an undercurrent of complicity between the hotel staff and the authorities-she knows she'll never recover her possessions. Stripped of her identity, she feels burdened by the crime yet strangely liberated by her sudden freedom to be anyone she chooses. A chance encounter with a movie producer leads to a job posing as a stand-in for a well-known film star. The star reels her in deeper, though, and soon she's inhabiting the actress's skin off set, too-going deeper into the Casablancan night and further from herself.