Nick Calhoun had only been looking to have his air filter replaced when he met Christine Young, the younger sister of a mutual friend. He was instantly smitten with her blonde hair, sundresses, and quiet demeanor, and Christine, who'd always been shy and bookish, was thrilled at the male attention. The couple was married only eight months later; Nick, a carpenter, built them a home and the two set out together to build themselves a family.

Harper Josephine Calhoun was born four years after the wedding, two years after the birth of their oldest child, Thomas; her sister Ella would round out the family just barely two years after that. Growing up, Harper was precocious, but generally well mannered. Her interests tended to mirror those of her parents, enjoying swimming and fishing for hours with her father, and losing herself in books like her mother. She had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with her older brother, and was often irritated that he was able to do things that she wasn't at comparable ages simply because he was a boy. Meanwhile, she took her role as a big sister seriously, always protective and motherly towards Ella.

The Calhoun family always seemed picture perfect; a hard working couple and their fair haired offspring, they painted a pretty picture at community events and the third pew from the altar in church every Sunday. However, unbeknownst to their children and friends, Nick and Christine's relationship had become strained. They hid their misgivings, her general displeasure with what her life had come to be, and his frustration over never being able to please her, behind closed doors for years, but it finally boiled over in the summer of 2001. They separated quietly in June and were divorced by Labor Day. Nick maintained primary custody of all three children and Christine moved north to the Outer Banks where she would remarry and birth two more children.

Entering her awkward teen years without a mother had a huge impact on Harper, though she refused to admit that anything was ever less than fine. She fell in with an older, faster crowd and in many ways, grew up way too fast. Her father did his best to keep her in line, but working overtime and side jobs to keep his fractured family afloat made it easy to slip out late and sneak in early. Intelligent but lazy academically, her grades slipped during her freshman and sophomore years. However, the desire to go to college and get out of Charleston was all the fuel she needed to get back on track for her last two years; her grades, and several essay based programs were enough to earn her partial scholarships, with FAFSA and student loans providing the rest of the funding she needed to attend the University of Georgia.

It was in Athens that Harper flourished, both in the classroom and in social circles. She pledged the Delta Delta Delta sorority as a freshman and found herself immediately drawn to some of the more monied members, first envying, and then striving to emulate, their poise, wardrobes, and bank accounts. Using her "big sister" as a role model, she fine tuned and elevated her expectations when it came to the opposite sex, learning how to play up her looks and different roles with finesse. Love, as far as she was concerned, was the stuff of fairytales; instead she merely wanted a practical, mutually beneficial partnership

By the time she graduated with her degree in Criminal Justice, Harper was dating a young Georgia state representative. She followed him to Savannah upon graduation, with dreams of being a congressman's wife dancing in her head. The relationship eventually fell apart, but Harper remained in Savannah, determined to elbow her way into society and find her own, platinum coated and diamond studded version of a happy ending.