In 1830s Ohio, the Goodenough family works relentlessly to tame their patch of land, buying saplings from a local man known as John Appleseed so they can stake their claim on the property. But in this novel by the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring, the orchard they plant sows the seeds of a long battle. Decades later, Robert Goodenough—the youngest of the five children—is wandering through Gold Rush California, still haunted by the broken family he left behind. In the redwood groves he finds some solace, collecting seeds for a naturalist, but when Robert's past makes an unexpected appearance, he must decide whether to flee or stake his own claim to a home at last.