Chelsea Harten is a journalist for a small newspaper who returned to her hometown after a failed engagement. She has the support of her parents and her brother Milo, as well as their long-standing friends Charlie and Dave Seddon. When Chelsea gives birth to her daughter Katalina Jane she has to evaluate how Katalina will fit into her life and how the new addition to the family will affect her relationships with her closest friends and family. The Way She Came to Be unfolds backwards, beginning with Katalina's birth and unwinding in reverse to reveal the circumstances of her conception. It examines the effect of the pregnancy on Chelsea, on her friends and family, and her work life, offering glimpses of the way in which one change in one life affects a whole circle of people.