Meant to Be

American aristocracy, the Kingsley family is adored for their unparalleled grace, political involvement, and valour in the military. Joseph S. Kingsley, Jr.'s flamboyant kid bears the heritage of his father, who died in a sad accident in 1967. However, Joe III has a free spirit and is sometimes irresponsible. Even with the best of intentions, he struggles to live up to the high standards set by both his strict mother Dottie and the country.

In the meanwhile, nobody ever had high expectations for Cate Cooper. She, too, grew up fatherless—and after her mother marries an abusive man, she is forced to fend for herself. After being discovered by a model scout at age sixteen, Cate decides that her looks may be her only ticket out of the cycle of disappointment that her mother has always inhabited. Before too long, Cate’s face is in magazines and on billboards. Yet she feels like a fraud, faking it in a world to which she’s never truly belonged.

When Joe and Cate unexpectedly cross paths one afternoon, their connection is instant and intense. But can their relationship survive the glare of the spotlight and the so-called Kingsley curse? In a beautifully written novel that captures a gilded moment in American history, Emily Giffin tells the story of two people searching for belonging and identity, as well as the answer to the question: Are certain love stories meant to be?