Sometimes the right person comes at the wrong time...
When psychology student Stephan Matthews meets ambitious social worker Frankie Johnson at an Atlanta Blockbuster in 1996, their connection is immediate and intense. Smart, beautiful, and fiercely focused on her career, Frankie challenges Stephan in ways no one ever has before. For Frankie, Stephan's natural charm and potential are irresistible, even if his lack of direction concerns her.
Their whirlwind romance faces its first real test when Frankie accepts a dream job in Charlotte. Determined to make things work, Stephan impulsively follows her, leaving behind everything familiar. But in Charlotte, their differences become impossible to ignore. While Frankie thrives professionally, Stephan flounders, increasingly retreating to familiar comforts and old habits. When the pressure becomes too much, he returns to Atlanta alone, leaving both their hearts broken and their potential unfulfilled.
Three years later, they've each built new lives. Stephan has found unexpected purpose focusing on financial management, while Frankie has escaped a dangerous relationship with a charismatic businessman and returned to Atlanta for a prestigious university position. When they unexpectedly cross paths at the Atlanta airport, they discover two people who are both familiar and strangers-each transformed by the journeys they've taken apart.
In this compelling story of growth, second chances, and the winding path to finding oneself, Terry McMillan meets Tayari Jones in a novel that asks: What happens when two people who were right for each other meet again after becoming the people they were always meant to be?