Who Is Maud Dixon?

Florence wakes up the next day. Helen suggests that they visit a palace called El Badi. They walk to El Badi and wander around the passageways of the palace. Afterward, Helen gives Florence her driver’s license to pick up the rental car. Florence notices from the picture how similar they look with their blond hair.

At the rental agency, Florence gives them Helen’s driver’s license, and they do not question that Florence is not Helen. Florence drives the rental car back to the hotel to pick Helen up.

Florence drives Helen to the villa in Semat. She notices that Helen does not wear a seatbelt, and she pictures Helen getting decapitated if she slams on her brakes.

After several hours, they arrive at the Villa des Grenades, where a woman named Amina greets them. The villa is run-down with a pool filled with algae. Later, Florence and Helen sit on the terrace to write. Florence faces writer’s block, which frustrates her because she thought it would become easier to write after she cut off Vera. Helen tells her that if she does not have something to write, then she must create her own story in her life so she can base her work on reality.

At dinner, Helen talks about how beautiful El Badi must have been centuries earlier. She tells Florence that something as great as that building must come from a hierarchy because subservient people built it. Florence argues that equality is better than Helen’s hierarchy, but Helen says that beauty only comes from greatness, and this does not come with equality.

Florence asks Helen how much of Mississippi Foxtrot is true. Helen tells her that it is true, except Ruby’s real name is Jenny. Helen says that Jenny told her how exhilarating it had been to kill the man who was following her, and that Helen wished she had done it. Helen says that the jury sentenced Jenny to 25 years in prison.

In the morning, they walk to the port. Florence watches as a fisherman beats an octopus on the dock, and Helen explains that it tenderizes the meat. That night, Florence and Helen go to dinner at a restaurant that Helen says a friend recommended to her. The road leading up to the restaurant has a direct drop off the cliff on one side. They arrive at the restaurant, and Helen orders them whiskey. Florence listens to Helen talking, but everything feels muffled.

When Florence wakes up in the hospital, all she knows is that she was in an accident and that everyone keeps calling her Helen Wilcox. Florence asks the nurse about Helen, but the nurse says that no one visited her. When Florence goes through her purse, she realizes that she has Helen’s passport, wallet, and phone, which explains why the staff calls her by Helen’s name. She cannot find her own wallet, passport, and phone.

When Florence wakes up, a police officer introduces himself as Hamid Idrissi. He informs her that her car went off the Rue Badr leading up to the restaurant the night before. He explains that a local fisherman pulled her out of her car before it sunk.

Florence cannot remember anything, and Idrissi tells her that it is illegal to drive after drinking in Morocco. Florence asks if they found anything after they dredged the car, but Idrissi says that they did not find anything. Florence realizes that she killed Helen in the accident but decides not to say anything.

When Florence leaves the hospital, she signs Helen’s name on the papers. Idrissi drives Florence to the villa and tells her that the restaurant told him that she was drinking the night of the accident. However, Idrissi says that nothing will happen to her because she is a tourist.

When she gets to the villa, Idrissi asks her what happened to the friend that she was having dinner with. Florence says that she took a taxi from the restaurant to Marrakesh. Amina helps Florence to Helen’s room and Florence takes two pills to help her sleep.

Florence wakes up, overcome with guilt about lying to the police and killing Helen. She suddenly remembers a rush of water and a hand grabbing her arm, but she cannot remember who grabbed her. Florence tells Amina that Helen went to Marrakesh with a small bag, and that Florence will pack up the rest for her when she leaves.

The next day, Florence goes through Helen’s items and puts on her underwear and clothes. Florence realizes that she is the only person who knows or cares that Helen is dead.

Florence decides that she will become Helen Wilcox. She realizes that Helen’s identity and fortune should not go to waste. Since Florence knows all of Helen’s passwords and bank accounts, she realizes that it will be easy for her to become Helen.

For the first time, Florence realizes that she can become Maud Dixon as well. Florence thinks that this is the perfect way to change her life, and it will give her something to write about.

The next day, Florence goes to the beach. As Florence lies on the sand, a young woman asks her to put sunscreen on her back. The woman looks at Florence’s bruises and asks what happened to her. When Florence says she was in a car accident, the girl knows about the accident because everyone in the town has been talking about it.

The woman introduces herself as Meg, and Florence tells her that her name is Helen. As they talk, Florence suddenly gets the feeling that Meg is not the kind of person that Helen would associate with, so she gathers her things to leave. Meg invites her to a party with several expats from the area, and Florence agrees to let Meg pick her up to take her to the party.

Florence reads an email from Greta, asking Helen to call her. Florence writes an email in Helen’s style, telling Greta that she has food poisoning. Later, Meg picks Florence up, and Florence wears Helen’s clothes. She gets on the back of Meg’s motorcycle and briefly thinks about how she thought about Helen’s head coming off when she was driving her around.

When they arrive at the apartment, Florence sees that the party is only a group of eight people. When Meg tells them that Florence is a novelist, Florence says she writes under a pseudonym. One of the women jokes about Florence being Maud Dixon and she talks about how much she loves Mississippi Foxtrot.

Florence starts a conversation with an attractive man named Nick. Nick talks about how everyone’s purpose in life is equal, but Florence does not believe that this is true. She flirts with Nick and spends the night with him.

The next morning, Florence thinks how thrilling it felt to be Helen at the party. For once, Florence felt like she was the one in control and it exhilarated her.

Greta calls, and Florence tells her that Helen is still sick from food poisoning. Florence evades Greta’s questions but promises that she will take Helen to the hospital if it gets worse. Florence hangs up, feeling upset because she knows that Greta will persist in her questions.

Florence tries to regain the feeling of excitement from becoming Helen. She meets Nick at the beach, and they walk to town. Florence sees Idrissi, so she pulls Nick into the souk to evade him.

Nick and Florence separate as they wander around the shops, and Florence hears someone call her name. She realizes that it is a friend from high school named Whitney. Whitney tells her that she is on vacation, and Florence explains that she is doing research in the area. Whitney tells her that she is dating Florence’s old boyfriend Trevor. Nick reappears and introduces himself to Whitney, but Florence cuts Whitney off before she can say Florence’s name aloud. Nick invites Whitney and her friend Amy to come out with them that night.

As they walk away, Florence hears Idrissi call out to her. He asks for her friend’s number, but Florence says that she called “Florence” from the landline at the house. Idrissi says he will check the phone records, and Florence panics and says that she needs to go home to lie down.

As they walk away, Florence tells Nick that Idrissi will not stop pestering her about her friend, but she cannot remember anything. Nick tells her that Idrissi wants a bribe because all the police officers are corrupt in that area. Florence walks back to Idrissi and tries to give him money to stop investigating, but Idrissi refuses the bribe.