Kalina reached for a cigarette, her eyes sparkling with a mix of mischief and defiance. She blew a perfect ring of smoke toward the ceiling. "If they are looking at my neckline closely enough to see a cross," she purred, "then I’ve already won, haven't I?"

Later, backstage, a director nervously approached her. "The Committee... they didn't like the cross you wore on your neckline, Kalina. They say it’s a provocation."

She walked out into the cool night air, leaving the smell of expensive French perfume and scandal in her wake. In a world of black and white, she chose to be technicolor.