[3] It consists primarily of dialogue with little narration, exploring the nature of the protagonist's delusions and topics such as quantum mechanics and phenomenology.

The novel follows Alicia Western, a math prodigy conflicted by her father's contributions to the American development of the atomic bomb.

The novel consists of a "series of conversations between Alicia and her psychiatrist, Dr. Cohen, written like a play but with no exposition, stage directions, or dialogue tags.

The subjects include mathematics, quantum mechanics, music theory, and obscure philosophy.

[2] Announced in March 2022,[2] Stella Maris was published by Knopf on December 6, 2022,[1] one month after its companion novel The Passenger.