25,000 Seeds

Palm Beach insider, Claire Patterson, knew the recipe for success. She had wrapped her life in the security of family, friends and a successful career. Hired as a consultant, Claire surprised everyone, leaving Palm Beach to spend the summer in rural Ohio.

Ben Donohue, Salinger, Ohio's largest landowner, had recently returned to spend the growing season overseeing his farm. Faced with the prejudices and mistrust of the townspeople he had once called friends, Ben focused on nurturing the land he loved. From the misty gray of spring with its smell of freshly tilled earth and rebirth, to the warm, lush ripening of the autumn harvests, it fed him in a way that a practical man couldn't describe. Until he ran into Claire.

Discovering a shared passion for cycling, Ben came to see through Claire's eyes, the striking beauty of the place he had abandoned so many years ago. As they cycled through the changing vistas of rich farmland, they built a bridge of trust across the divide between their worlds; letting go of what they thought they wanted to find what really mattered.