"Bobbie Ann Mason is one of those rare writers who, by concentrating their
attention on a few square miles of native turf, are able to open up new and surprisingly wide
worlds for the delighted reader."New York Times Book Review


Reed Futrell is an engineer at a uranium-enrichment plant in heartland America. His father
worked at the very same plant before him. Despite his father's death in a tragic accident at
the atomic plant years ago, Reed stays on, proud to perform demanding and dangerous
work for the benefit of the nation. As for the radioactive "incidents" he has endured, Reed
prefers to think about other things, such as Hubble photographs of distant galaxies, Albert
Einstein, his dog.

Reed's casual attitude toward danger infuriates his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Julia, a biologist.
Julia is truly Reed's match. Both are witty, curious, and fascinated by science. But when deformed
frogs are discovered and news reports reveal evidence of radioactive pollution surrounding the plant,
Reed and Julia face an unprecedented challenge.

Bobbie Ann Mason is a best-selling author, winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, American Book Award, and PEN/Faulkner Award. Her memoir, Clear Springs, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She is a writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky.

Mark Bramhall studied acting at Harvard, the University of California at Berkeley, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (as a Fulbright scholar), and the American Conservatory Theatre. He has starred in numerous West Coast stage productions and has played featured roles in such television series as Alias, NYPD Blue, The X-Files, 7th Heaven, That 70s Show, and Babylon 5.