First published 1987
Dr. Sarah Chen stands in her laboratory at Los Alamos, watching colleagues debate whether their research serves peace or destruction. The year is 1952, and the race for nuclear supremacy pushes brilliant minds toward impossible decisions. Chen must choose between her scientific ideals and government pressure to develop weapons that could end civilization. Her mentor warns that physics has become politics, while her former student argues that knowledge belongs to all humanity. As congressional hearings target scientists as potential traitors, Chen faces accusations that threaten her career and freedom. The woman who once believed science would save the world now questions whether her discoveries doom it instead. Her struggle reveals the price of knowledge in an age when atoms split nations apart.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, physics, political-thriller, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: idealism-vs-pragmatism, moral-dilemma
Setting: Los Alamos
Period: 1952
512 pages · Paperback · Harvard University Press
Content warnings: violence