"Beeda is leading a double life. A single mother in Cape Town, she is a pious Muslim and a respected member of society. But she is also an independent-minded woman with a sizzling sensuality and a love for risk. When her friend introduces her to the local casino, Beeda tries out the slot machines and gets hooked. At first, the gambling is innocent enough, but soon life gets more and more complicated - her youngest son is dying from AIDS, her sister is diagnosed with cancer, and Beeda is consumed with an untenable love for someone she cannot have - and gambling starts to overtake her life." "Her neighbors disapprove of her habit and her son's illness; the entire Muslim culture frowns on her. But Beeda challenges the prejudices of her culture, and with self-assurance and humor she maps out a new path of redemption." "From the very picture of Muslim womanhood to a portrait of a woman troubled by the confines of unforgiving reality, Beeda's internal conflict parallels her society's conflict between modernity and tradition. A portrait of contemporary Muslim life in one of the world's most dynamic and dangerous cities, Confessions of a Gambler is a story both timely and universal - a story that shows that when a woman strays from the narrow path laid out for her by society, all bets are off."--BOOK JACKET.