D : Heavy Water

The second instalment in the monumental BOMB LIGHT series - a gripping tale set on the eve of World War II, as nations race to find and control an elusive substance critical to building atomic weapons.From Neal Stephenson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Polostan and Cryptonomicon, comes the second instalment in his monumental Bomb Light series - a gripping tale set on the eve of World War II, as nations race to find and control an elusive substance critical to building atomic weapons.1934.British journalist Owen Crisp-Upjohn is dispatched to Moscow, where his assignments quickly escalate from cultural reporting to international espionage.Before long, Owen finds himself pulled into the orbit of the enigmatic Earl of Suffolk, a maverick aristocrat, and Aurora, a curiously compelling women with a shadowy past rooted in Soviet intelligence.Their mission soon becomes clear: secure the world's only supply of deuterium - heavy water" - before it falls into Nazi hands.The high-stakes pursuit takes them from London's plush drawing-rooms to Barcelona, ravaged by the Spanish Civil War; from far-flung Soviet aerodromes to the perilous, icy landscapes of occupied Norway.Over time, Owen evolves from a detached observer into a man forced to confront profound questions of honour, love and moral responsibility as loyalties are tested and allegiances shift in an ever-tightening web of science and deceit.Rich with historical insight, emotionally complex characters and a relentless sense of urgency in a world on the edge of cataclysm, D: Heavy Water is a suspenseful and wildly entertaining tale of courage and consequence in which humankind's future is shaped by decisions made in the shadows.