Back Where We Started

Katie’s wildest dreams have come true. She’s a Hollywood actress, booked and busy, and campaigning for her first Oscar. The sexist press and unimaginative roles are a struggle, but they’ve taken her far from Dutch Ridge, Pennsylvania—and that makes it all worth it. Dutch Ridge only reminds her of Drew: her first love, her first everything, the only person who ever shared her ambition. Their dreams bound them together at sixteen—and tore them apart in the years after. Now a promise to her sister brings Katie home for Christmas, where she collides with Drew, who’s chosen a very different life to the one they had once dreamed up. And strangely, he seems. . .happy. As old feelings resurface, Katie must question whether success alone is enough.

Katie’s wildest dreams have come true. She’s a Hollywood actress, booked and busy, and campaigning for her first Oscar. The sexist press and unimaginative roles are a struggle, but they’ve taken her far from Dutch Ridge, Pennsylvania—and that makes it all worth it. Dutch Ridge only reminds her of Drew: her first love, her first everything, the only person who ever shared her ambition. Their dreams bound them together at sixteen—and tore them apart in the years after. Now a promise to her sister brings Katie home for Christmas, where she collides with Drew, who’s chosen a very different life to the one they had once dreamed up. And strangely, he seems. . .happy. As old feelings resurface, Katie must question whether success alone is enough.