WHILE SCOURING THE ATTIC of her literary hero and dissertation subject, Gene Sanders Wilkerson, grad student Genevieve Slidell comes upon five previously unknown Wilkerson novels. In a variety of genres and nothing like his previous work, Genevieve fears the stodgy world of Wilkerson scholarship won't understand them, and she claims them as her own, entering them in a batch of literary contests. Two win and two place. SHE MAKES THE ROUNDS of genre conventions to accept her honors accompanied by Wilkerson's ghost Sandy who's taken with the idea of vicariously enjoying being famous again through her. EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIIMMINGLY for the pair until they get to Literature where the whole thing blows up, only to be resolved by a clever courtroom drama in which she pleads not insanity but metafiction. A bumper car ride through the crazy business of telling stories, The Perfect Stranger explores the complex relationship between the author and her work.