Cosmopolitan Tangier, heart and so ul of Morocco, sets the stage for this smoldering novel of dreams and lovers, both before and after the nation's independence. Al 'Ayshuni, a middle-aged painter of bohemian and political inclinations has fa ll en in love with a younger woman, the alluring Ghaylana. But fate intervenes when she leaves him for new adventures in Spain . Now, Al 'Ayshuni befriends Ghaylana's daughter, the impressionable Fatima. Even as Al 'Ayshuni struggles to recapture the "fugitive light" of his lost youth--as well as that of a younger generation of artists and activists--so Fatima discovers the twin fires of love and revolution, both of which are doomed to extinction. Written with the simplicity of a parable and imbued with a viscera l visual sense, this remarkable book explores the lives of three people whose hopes and passions are ruled-and ultimately shattered- by laws both visible and unseen. Fugitive Light explores the profound dilemma of Moroccan artists torn between old French ties and youthful anti-colonialism. Struggling to balance two cultures, they exist in a landscape haunted by inner conflict and governed at once by abandon and conformity.