Published in 2004, the book describes the adventures of a high-energy physicist following the surprise announcement that a Chinese physicist (with whom he had a long-ago romance) had discovered the long-sought Higgs boson.

Parts of the plot are based on the aborted Superconducting Super Collider project.

"[1] Publishers Weekly called it "Occasionally corny but also playful, thoughtful and passionate".

[2] The journal Science said that Wouk "accurately depicts science as an often interactive and collegial enterprise", and that the novel offers a "refreshing contrast with the treatments of mad scientists that are so abundant in literature and popular culture.

"[3] The review in Nature had some criticism, saying that the "scientific explanations are pat and usually come in the form of long e-mails that bog down the plot", that the discussions of the Chinese people "verge on racism", and that the book's ending "falls flat".