There was a time when David Corstorphine considered himself a lucky man. His wife, Rachel, was all he could hope to find in a woman--lovely, smart, and full of spirit--though after their awkward first meeting, he never would have dreamed that they would go on to share the joyful struggles of raising a family together. Even as she faced cancer,... more » she did so with the thirst for life that David adored, a smile always playing on her face. Now she is gone and David's life is in ruins. In search of solace, he and his children seek refuge at Inchelvie, his parents' home in the Scottish countryside. Devastated by overwhelming grief, David withdraws from his parents, friends, and business responsibilities. Rather, he spends his days knee-deep in mud, focusing all of his energies on the reinstatement of Inchelvie's gardens. It is only while working in the gardens that David finds respite from his pain. It is a crisis at the family business that forces David to begin his tentative return to the world of the living. Though he has steeled himself for this urgent trip to the United States by staying in the home of an old army friend, he quickly learns that he is ill-prepared emotionally to face the world once again. But David is also surprised to find a certain degree of comfort in being a stranger in a strange land. In America he is free from all that has happened to him and able to reconstruct his shattered life. Wandering the village streets, he happens upon a sign that reads: GARDENER/HANDYMAN REQUIRED. Soon he is spending his days working in a large garden on a Long Island estate. With the heat of the American sun on his back and in his new surroundings, David begins to feel alive again. Gradually he comes to know the lively housekeeper, Jasmine, and Benjy, a lonely boy whose parents own this beautiful home, though they are rarely in it together. He befriends Benjy, teaching him how to swim, to play the ukulele and tennis, and he comes to see how Benjy's parents' strained marriage has taken its toll on the young boy. But David needs this boy's friendship as much as Benjy needs his. It is some time before Benjy's mother also notices the mysterious Scottish gardener who is making her son smile and laugh again. By caring for another family, David becomes able to care for his own again. By loving another family, David becomes able to love again.