Summary

Part II is a long section that serves as a bridge between the two principal parts of the novel. As it opens, Catherine Grace arrives in Atlanta and is retrieved from the bus station by her distant cousin Laura Lynn. Laura Lynn is a loan officer at a bank and dresses like a man; she encourages Catherine Grace to do the same. She is also engaged to Royce Randolph Duncan III and likes to display his family pedigree on a regular basis. Laura Lynn shares the details of the wedding, all the things one "must do" in Atlanta. Catherine is surprised to see that Laura Lynn isn't in Atlanta to pursue a dream; she's just there to find a man, which doesn't seem much different from the girls back home. Otherwise, Catherine Grace is enamored with Atlanta, especially the 24-hr McDonald's.

Catherine lives...