Any Given Moment

With a broad comic touch and an insider's knowledge, Van Wormer (Benedict Canyon) weaves a clever but somewhat romanticized story of a pair of kindly literary agents who almost fall victim to corporate greed. International Communications Artists (ICA) has succumbed to a hostile buyout by ruthless Hollywood wunderkind Creighton Berns; and the first item on his wicked agenda is to padlock the offices of Henry and Dorothy Hillings' venerable literary agency, which is in the process of merging with ICA, and to paw relentlessly through its files. When Dorothy suffers a heart attack at the affront, Henry summons a colorful phalanx of devoted clients to protest the lockout and to find out exactly what Berns and his odious minions are seeking. As spies infiltrate both camps, and the air bristles with sexual complications, an intricate tale of publishing chicanery unfolds. Malice and deceit lie at the heart of this savvy, occasionally salacious saga, which ends with one deserving author being interviewed by PW. Author tour. (Feb.)