Amanda Clayson loves chocolate almost as much as she does making a home. An inheritance from her great-aunt brings her an old farmhouse in the foothills of northern California. To pay for the upkeep, she takes in boarders. Two elderly residents, a dog named Harry, and a cow named Peaches comprise her family and fill her big rambling home with love and laughter. Amanda has a generous heart, a chocolate chip cookie business, a green thumb, and a firm belief in the goodness of people and in love. Ex-cop-turned-author Lucas Reed is Amanda's newest boarder. Lucas has a battered body and a bruised heart and has seen too much of what man can do to man to believe in goodness or in love. He arrives at Amanda's house to recharge his writing. Amanda knows that she and her family can heal Lucas' shattered heart, but can she convince him that love exists?