Expiration Dates is the eighth novel from Rebecca Serle, American author of the New York Times bestselling romance novel In Five Years (2020). Serle’s 2022 romance novel One Italian Summer and her Famous in Love two-book series have also had considerable commercial success. The Famous in Love series was adapted for television (2017-2018), and Serle’s debut novel, When You Were Mine, was adapted into the romantic comedy film Rosaline in 2022.

Expiration Dates is a contemporary romance novel with magical realism elements. It follows Daphne Bell, a film producer’s assistant in Los Angeles. Daphne receives notes from the universe telling her how long she will be with each man she dates. Everything changes when she meets Jake Green and receives a note containing only his name and no timespan. Hoping that she has found the man she is meant to be with, Daphne must overcome her doubts and insecurities to accept the love she wants. Her story examines themes of fate, choice, and the complexities of connection and vulnerability.

This guide refers to the 2024 hardcover edition published by Atria Books.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss heart failure, chronic illness, and medical trauma.

Plot Summary

Daphne, a film producer’s assistant in Los Angeles, has been set up on a blind date with Jake Green by their mutual friend, Kendra. Daphne is nervous, having received a note that indicates that Jake is the man she is meant to spend the rest of her life with. Daphne receives mysterious notes from the universe that tell her how long she will be with each man she dates, beginning with her first boyfriend in fifth grade. For the first time, however, the note with Jake’s name contains no time limit, which means that she will be with him forever.

On their first date, Daphne finds Jake charming and attractive. When the date ends, Daphne meets her best friend, Hugo, for drinks. She and Hugo dated briefly five years before, and he is the only person she has ever told about her notes. He is surprised when she tells him that her newest note has no end date.

Daphne and Jake continue to date. Jake lost his first wife to illness several years ago. He is not interested in casual dating but wants something deep and meaningful. Daphne wants this as well but is reluctant to tell him about the secrets in her life. Daphne confides in Hugo, as well as Kendra and her employer, Irina.

Interspersed with chapters about Daphne’s relationship with Jake are chapters about her previous relationships. In these flashbacks, Daphne’s time with Hugo receives the most attention. Hugo and Daphne first meet while he is dating an actress. Several weeks later, he asks for Daphne’s number. Daphne is reluctant until she finds the note with his name on her car windshield. The note says that they will date for three months. Within a month of dating, Daphne realizes that she is in love with Hugo, despite knowing it will end.

Returning to the present, Daphne and Jake have dinner with Hugo. Hugo is possessive and rude, but Jake remains polite, telling Daphne afterward that Hugo is still in love with her. Then, after five months of dating, Daphne moves in with Jake. At this point, Daphne finally reveals her biggest secret: She has a heart condition that could lead to heart failure at any moment.

In a flashback, Daphne describes her relationship with her high school boyfriend, Tae. He is a pre-med student, and early in their friendship, Daphne has a sudden massive heart attack, leading to her diagnosis and two years in the hospital during which Tae stays by her side. After two years, Daphne regains some normalcy, and Tae breaks up with her. From that moment, Daphne decides to hide her illness from her loved ones and guard her heart from further disappointment.

In the present, Jake promises to support her, but Daphne feels guilty that she may one day hurt Jake by dying, just as his first wife did. Before Jake, Hugo was the only other person she told about her illness, which led to their breakup because Daphne could not handle the idea that Hugo might pity her.

Three weeks after Daphne moves in with Jake, he proposes to her. Hugo reacts with jealousy, leading to a rift in their friendship. After the engagement, Daphne continues to feel ambivalent. They discuss the possibility of having children: Jake wants to, but Daphne fears that it is not possible with her condition and does not want to think about it, which adds to her guilt.

Finally, Hugo admits to Daphne that he still loves her and wants to be with her. He demands that she be truthful about what she wants. Daphne says that her truth is a “death sentence” and hurts the man she is meant to marry, but Hugo retorts that it is not the truth but merely the story she tells herself. As proof, he admits that he wrote Jake’s note. He’d found the real note with a time limit of three weeks and replaced it so that Daphne would know what it felt like to not know.

Horrified and confused, Daphne returns home and confronts her illness, her mortality, and her feelings. Then, in a conversation with her father, she admits that she does not want to marry Jake. Shortly after, Daphne breaks off her engagement. She states that Jake is trying to save his wife by saving Daphne, and neither will work. Moreover, she wants to face the truth of her life rather than hide from it. Daphne moves out of Jake’s apartment, and Irina offers her a new job as a producer on a production in Italy.

Sixteen months later, home from Italy, Daphne meets Hugo for a date. She finds a new note, but the wind pulls it from her hand, and she decides not to chase it. She is ready to face the unknown.