The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty

The novel is narrated in second person, using the pronoun "you" throughout. The protagonist, an unnamed 33-year-old woman, is in the process of divorcing. She has recently served as a surrogate for her fraternal twin sister with infertility problems, giving birth to her niece Reeves Conway. Shortly after the birth, her sister confesses that she has been having an affair with the protagonist's husband.

The protagonist takes a trip from Florida to Morocco, attempting to recover from these recent events. On the flight to Casablanca, the protagonist recognizes one of her fellow passengers. Upon arrival, her backpack—with her passport, laptop, wallet, credit cards, and camera—is stolen from the hotel lobby. She cancels her credit cards and reports the theft to the chief of police, lying that she is a travel writer for The New York Times.

The next day, the police chief gives her a different backpack that contains a wallet, credit cards, and the passport of a woman named Sabine Alyse. Suspicious of a conspiracy between the police and the hotel staff, and feeling pressured to accept the backpack, the protagonist signs a document with Sabine's name, assuming her identity. She later cuts her hair to resemble Sabine.

Using Sabine's credit card, the protagonist moves into the Regency, a fancier hotel in Casablanca. She visits the U.S. embassy to report her passport stolen, but discovers that she has lost the police document and gives another false name to the embassy official.

Returning to the Regency, the protagonist stumbles upon the production of a film called A Different Door starring a famous American actress. The actress' stand-in suddenly departs due to an affair with the film's director. The production team offers the protagonist (who introduces herself as Reeves Conway) a job as the actress' new stand-in due to their resemblance.

The protagonist begins work, blocking two scenes at a house in an upscale Casablanca neighborhood. That night, she confides in the actress about the events of her stay in Morocco and reveals that Reeves is not her real name. After the next day's shoot—a scene stuck in traffic—the actress invites her to the Jazzablanca festival. The actress leaves the concert early after being recognized, and the protagonist meets the actress' friend Patti Smith backstage.

On the protagonist's third day of work, the actress asks her to attend dinner with Leopoldi, a Russian businessman the actress once dated. The protagonist blocks a scene at a mosque where the actress must cry while praying. Thinking of her niece's birth, the protagonist cries during the scene, earning praise from the director.

The protagonist wears the actress' dress and the wig she uses on set to dinner with Leopoldi. She enjoys their evening together, but becomes drunk after they have a nightcap. A photographer captures her falling down, believing she is the actress, and contacts the actress' team to demand $100,000 for the photos. The actress is infuriated with the protagonist, but she is not fired to avoid delaying the production.

Paranoid that the actress will expose her deception, the protagonist abandons Sabine's backpack at a crowded marketplace. The next morning, she discovers that the photos have been sold to a tabloid. She skips work and boards a tour bus to Meknes, purchasing slippers and a djellaba at the souk.

When the tour guide announces a passenger is missing, the group splits up to search. The protagonist joins Samantha and Hazel, college friends on a reunion trip. Samantha—the woman whom the protagonist recognized on the flight to Casablanca—was the nurse when Reeves was born. Not recognizing the protagonist, Samantha begins telling the story of Reeves' birth. The protagonist flees, unable to listen, and buys a stolen camera from a vendor.

Samantha and Hazel find the protagonist again, telling her that she was the "missing" tourist due to the guide miscounting. When the protagonist learns that she will have to give a police statement, she puts on her new clothes and slips away. With her camera, she infiltrates a press pool van traveling to Rabat with a Nigerian politician. As an Aretha Franklin song plays on the radio, the protagonist reinvents herself again, introducing herself as Aretha.