[1][2] The memoir is an account of the events surrounding the redefinition of the term planet that eventually changed the status of Pluto.

It chronicles the discovery of Eris, a dwarf planet then mistakenly thought to be larger than Pluto, located within the scattered disc, beyond Neptune's orbit.

The replaying of events includes the adversarial challenging of long-held scientific beliefs between some of the world's leading astronomers and the eventual 2006 International Astronomical Union's vote that removed Pluto from the list of Solar System planets.

[1] Reviews of the book have been generally positive, with James Kennedy of The Wall Street Journal calling the book a "brisk" and "enjoyable ... chronicle" of the tale of the search for new planets and the eventual demotion of Pluto from planetary status.

[3] Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it a "short, eager-to-please research memoir".