Consuming Passions

Bright's ( Singular Women ) absorbing look at the glamorous life considers how far (or how low) people will go in the quest for success. Fresh from Cedar City, Nebr., young journalist Lee Whitfield is thrilled when she's befriended by a celebrity--her mother's college chum Geraldine O'Neal. Gerry calls in a favor from an old lover to hand Lee a magazine job and regales the wide-eyed fledgling with stories from her past: she was a showgirl at the Folies Bergere while studying at the Sorbonne, bluffed her way into becoming a syndicated columnist, put in a stint as a diplomat and now hobnobs with Manhattan's elite as head of her own PR firm. But when Gerry discourages Lee's interest in handsome, rich, married businessman Michael Avesian and then embarks on her own affair with him, Lee plots her revenge: a juicy magazine article about the shadier side of Gerry's past. Fueled by ambition and anger, Lee turns up a story even hotter than the one she was seeking and realizes she may have a shot at destroying the legend--but at what cost to Gerry and to herself? (Feb.)