A former pageant queen struggles with the realities of life off the runway in a novel "reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned " ( The State News , Lansing). After being crowned Miss America a decade ago, Cathy Forester has been in some glamorous settings—but she has little to show for it. She's endured a string of failed loves, a divorce, and the death of her parents. Restless by temperament, Cathy thinks she may have found a new life with a younger man, Peter Shaw. Peter is the son of a famous musician and is still battling to come into his own. Smitten by Cathy's beauty, he jumps at the chance to step out of his father's shadow. Together, the pair finds solace from the outside world, but have their frailties really disappeared? Ringing with authentic intimacy, Miss America is a powerful study of disenchanted love.