belongings and last dollar stolen, or more generally finding themselves in environments that are illicit with a threat of harm attached. Rita witnesses a crime in a seedy hotel and now must protect herself against the perpetrator as well the possibility of being accused of involvement. Fortunately, a sympathetic investigator Gary Shepard finds his way to Rita, but her fragile beauty gives him a chance to escape his dying marriage. Unfortunately, his seduction of Rita is in the end simply an example of exploitation of the vulnerable, as she repeatedly expresses her longings for Jimmy, believing that Gary will assist in her search. Hope is almost an extravagance in these circumstances; even thinking that way is asking for its thin thread to be cut. But Rita keeps getting back up; she will not cave in. Perhaps that is the message: in the face of bleak reality, a small light can be a beacon. Just maybe, one can get closer and closer to that light.