This true story begins when Anderson, a 21-year-old Marine sergeant recently returned from Vietnam, stuns his mother with the question that has inexplicably haunted him from his earliest years: Was the alcoholic, abusive father who had so tormented him in his childhood his real father? Her truthful answer: Walter was born of a war-time love affair between his German protestant mother and the Russian Jewish man she loved. He keeps their secret for nearly 35 years -- until the day he meets an unknown brother -- another son of his real father -- who has lived a similar, nearly parallel life.

Meant to Be is a love story, a journey of self-discovery and spirituality, and a provocative challenge to common notions about the role of heredity in our lives.