In Kate Fagan’s 2025 novel The Three Lives of Cate Kay, the protagonist, an author who has built a publishing empire using the pseudonym “Cate Kay,” takes the bold step of writing a memoir revealing her true identity. The protagonist fears a public backlash when she reveals that she has not just one but two “real” names and recounts the tragedy that sent her fleeing from her hometown and her first identity when she was just 18 years old.

Her story demonstrates how fragmented a person’s sense of self can become when they cannot accept themselves completely. It also shows what happens when ambition leads people into public life and exposes them to the manipulation of equally ambitious—but much less scrupulous—people. Despite the risks, “Cate” hopes that sharing the honest details of her story, and allowing others impacted by her actions to have their say, as well, will restore her integrity and create a space for healing—and second chances.

This study guide refers to the 2025 Atria Books hardcover first edition.

Content Warning: Both the source material and guide feature depictions of anti-gay bias, emotional abuse, addiction, mental illness, death by suicide, and explicit sexual content.

Language Note: Chapter summaries and analyses refer to the protagonist as “Annie” when that is the name that she herself is using. Likewise, the name “Cass” is used when she is choosing to go by that name. The only exception to this rule occurs in discussions of the text’s footnotes, where the protagonist’s use of the name “Cate” is noted. For clarity’s sake, all other entries refer to the protagonist as “Annie,” the name that she uses for herself during the final chapters of her story.

Plot Summary

Annie Callahan, who has lived most of her adult life using the name Cass Ford, writes a memoir exposing her identity as bestselling author Cate Kay. As Cate, she has built a publishing empire around a trilogy of novels depicting the friendship between two journalists who experience a nuclear blast in New York City. Now ready to reveal her real identity and history, Annie is nervous that the truth will alienate her readers—but it is important to her to reclaim her identity, even if she is not proud of all of her past choices.

She begins her memoir by flashing back to her childhood in Bolton Landing, in upstate New York. Emotionally neglected by her mother, Patricia, the young Annie confronts existential questions that leave her feeling a deep void. She has the feeling that she wants to eat up the whole world to fill this emptiness. When she is nine, she meets Amanda Kent, who becomes her best friend. The two bond over their love of acting and develop a deep intimacy, dreaming of moving to Los Angeles together and starring in movies that focus on stories about best friends.

However, Annie develops unrequited romantic feelings for Amanda, complicating the friendship. Additionally, Annie’s outsized ambitions make her wonder if she will someday need to leave Amanda behind. As much as she cherishes Amanda, Annie gradually begins to feel stifled. She does not know how she will ever fall in love with anyone while she is still so attached to Amanda, and she fears that the friendship will prevent her from pursuing her dreams.

The two graduate from high school in the spring of 2000, and prepare to leave for Los Angeles. Just before their departure, they explore the site of an abandoned house, and Amanda shows off by riding a rotting zipline. She falls and is badly injured. Terrified, Annie rushes off to get help. However, after she makes sure that emergency services are on their way to Amanda, she gets into her car and drives to the nearby town of Plattsburgh—not out of a conscious decision to abandon her friend, but because she is panicked and cannot face the crisis that has just occurred. Seeing a “help wanted” sign at a local café, Annie renames herself “Cass Ford” and applies for the job. She welcomes this chance to reinvent herself and experiment with an independent life, but she is also sure that she will soon return to Bolton Landing and to Amanda.

Annie (now known as Cass) begins attending a writing class and meets a woman named Sidney Collins, a law student who falls hard for Annie. After an emotional encounter in which Annie tells Sidney what happened in Bolton Landing, Sidney invites Annie to move to New York with her. Sensing that Annie is uncertain, Sidney secretly travels to Bolton Landing and learns that Amanda is paralyzed from the waist down. Sidney lies to Annie, claiming that Amanda has died. Annie is devastated. That night, Annie and Sidney have sex for the first time, and Annie begins writing the first draft of her novel, The Very Last.

Meanwhile, back in Bolton Landing, Amanda is dealing with the rigors of physical rehabilitation and is trying to come to terms with her disability. She knows that her accident was her own fault. Aware that Annie had been pulling away from her, she engaged in risky behavior to impress Annie. She understands Annie’s panic, but she badly misses her friend and needs her emotional support. She feels that all she can do now is drain the people she loves, and she yearns to feel more useful.

Five years later, Annie has finished The Very Last and submitted it to a literary agency under the pseudonym of Cate Kay. She is living in Harlem with Sidney, who is now a practicing attorney. Their relationship is strained because Annie spends a great deal of her time mourning Amanda and regretting her own choices, and Sidney resents this distraction and feels that Annie is not sufficiently grateful for Sidney’s love. Annie’s novel becomes a runaway bestseller, and Amanda eventually discovers it. Because the novel uses many details from her friendship with Annie, Amanda  “Cate Kay’s” true identity. She is furious at Annie and immediately writes her a nasty note, sending it to “Cate’s” publisher.

In late 2006, actress Ryan Channing is asked to play a role in the film version of The Very Last. Feeling isolated by her stardom and her decision to hide the fact that she is a lesbian, she decides to meet Cate and spend time with her. Ryan is aware that Cate’s desire for anonymity will make this difficult, but she suspects that Cate may also be a lesbian and hopes to forge a deeper connection with her. She sends Annie a letter through Sidney, but Sidney tries to hide it from Annie. When Annie eventually finds out about the letter, she flies out to L.A. in January of 2007 to meet Ryan against Sidney’s wishes. Annie and Ryan are immediately attracted to one another and spend weeks together in Ryan’s bungalow. Ryan learns the name that Annie is currently living under—Cass Ford—and eventually hears the whole story of Annie’s past.

The two begin a romantic relationship, and Ryan decides to ask Annie to come with her to Charleston when the movie begins filming. Annie, already yearning for Ryan to invite her, books herself a flight to Charleston without telling Ryan, then leaves a message telling Sidney of her plans. That night, someone claiming to be a reporter calls Annie and threatens to publish a story about her real identity and Amanda’s supposed death. Annie calls Sidney for advice, and Sidney claims that Ryan must have leaked her story. Sidney promises to kill the story and urges Annie to return to New York. Annie leaves a confused and heartbroken Ryan in Los Angeles and returns to Harlem. The next day, she leaves Sidney for good.

She then moves to Charleston, where she can be close to where Ryan is filming, and spends her time writing and recovering from the shocks of her past. A devastated Ryan tries to get a note to Annie through Sidney, but Sidney now has no idea where Annie is, so the note is returned unread.

That February, Amanda reaches a breaking point of her own. Her physical rehabilitation has stalled, and she has developed an alcohol addiction and blames Annie for everything. After an intense argument with some friends, her anger at Annie boils over. In the calm that follows, she realizes that the accident was her own fault, and she also acknowledges that she deliberately manipulated Annie’s romantic feelings for her. She recognizes that Annie is now in just as much pain as Amanda is.

The next night, Amanda attends her first AA meeting. To her surprise and dismay, she runs into Patricia Callahan, Annie’s mother, who is now sober and warmly welcomes Amanda to the meeting. Amanda has no interest in interacting with a member of Annie’s family, and she leaves before the meeting is over.

Months later, Patricia reaches out to Amanda and expresses regret over her neglect of Annie. Amanda is disappointed to learn that Patricia has no idea where Annie is. Amanda tells Patricia to read The Very Last. That night, she begins rereading it herself, and she finds that she is no longer so angry at Annie; in fact, she mostly just misses her friend. Amanda’s life begins to improve after this; she begins working at her father’s garage and takes on a part-time role in her old high school drama department. She decides to write one final letter to “Cate,” honestly sharing friend how much she misses her friend.

Annie, still in Charleston, reads an article in which Ryan publicly reveals that she is a lesbian. Misinterpreting the details of Ryan’s interview, Annie comes to believe that Ryan never really loved her, and she resolves to get over Ryan. She also realizes that she is also aching for Amanda. She begins a brand-new novel about her relationship with Amanda: a more joyous one that celebrates the happiness they once shared.

While she is working on this novel, Annie gets a box from Sidney, who says she is trying to right past wrongs by relinquishing control of the “Cate Kay” business empire. Sidney confesses that she paid a reporter to call Annie in Los Angeles and sabotage her relationship with Ryan. She also sends the address of the P.O. box where “Cate’s” fan mail has been sent. Annie immediately sends a message to Ryan’s agent, then retrieves her fan mail. She discovers the letters from Amanda and is stunned to realize that Amanda is still alive. Now furious at Sidney, Annie returns to Bolton Landing and reunites with her friend.

When Ryan gets Annie’s message, she flies to Bolton Landing. She and Annie are also reunited. Eight months later, in preparation for the upcoming publication of “Cate Kay’s” memoir, Annie holds a book event at The Strand in New York City. Amanda and Ryan are both there to support her as she explains her life story to a large crowd. Annie is relieved when the event goes well, and she is delighted to finally be able to introduce herself to her public by her real name.