In 1945, while attending Dartmouth College, Kay meets and falls in love with Michael, also a student there. As a non-Italian, she is an outsider to the Corleones' world, and embodies Michael's initial desire to live a life separate from his family's. When she and Michael attend the wedding of his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), they sit at a table away from the family. In the novel, the other guests notice how Kay's manner is more laid-back than expected from an unmarried woman.