Rooted in Indiana cornfields, They Came to Pick Tomatoes takes the reader across the indefinable boundaries of race, loyalty and unbridled love. Plucky Jill Havlicek, a cheerleader and church volunteer, has outgrown her high school boyfriend, her small minded town and in some ways her own time. Settling into college Jill quickly confronts the consequences of an impulsive summer affair with a mysterious migrant. Her eyes open to look at the wider world that imbues her life. Starting in 1960 Jill and her friends take us through some of the most turbulent times in American history. Though she loves again and again her hot August afternoon with a stranger remains in her heart. Throughout the journey and over countless stiff drinks Jill counts on her best friend Sadie for support and advice. Their road trips are legendary, their choices rarely safe, but the journeys are priceless. Jill's salt of the earth parents create the backbone for her idyllic upbringing, but it's the new faces in all different colors that carve out the most authentic version of this woman. They Came to Pick Tomatoes is a love story. It's about the love Jill feels for her men, the love men feel for the soil beneath their feet and the love we all feel for something that is bigger than ourselves - freedom, connection, passion. Will love win? Will the secrets of her true love's past be too much to bear for a promising future? Can being bad ever lead to good? Start with Jill on her journey for these answers in The Shelter.