Jennifer, 1957 Summary

Jennifer North is a success in Paris but a million-dollar, three-picture deal is luring her back to California. She is frightened of returning to Hollywood because of the scrutiny that will be placed upon her (she is thirty-seven years old but is passing for twenty-seven). The year before, she overdosed on Seconal pills. Her director, Claude Chardot, insists that she have a facelift before presenting herself to the press. She is put into a medically supervised, week-long sleep to lose weight and receives a series of hormone shots to maintain the firmness of her breasts.

The treatments are successful and Jennifer is more beautiful than ever. She visits her friend, Anne Welles, in New York City before traveling to Hollywood. In a heart-to-heart conversation, Anne wonders aloud about if she and Lyon Burke would still be together if she had tolerated living in...