Robert Sawyer transforms a fascinating what if scenario into an exhilarating thriller combining physics, philosophy, murder, and suspense. At the CERN lab in Switzerland, a pair of scientists are about to turn on the worlds most powerful supercollider and initiate the search for the Higgs boson, more popularly known as the god particle, when something goes strangely awry. Everyone on the planet loses consciousness for two minutes, a calamity which results in death for many, but produces prophecy for others. During the mass blackout, those who survive get a detailed glimpse of themselves 20 years into the future. This vision causes pandemonium, as people with positive futures try to accelerate the process, while those with negative revelations either abandon hope or fight to change things at all costs. One of the scientists responsible for the event is mystified because he received no vision, until he submits to the awful realization that this means that he will die sometime within the next 20 years. The only hope for humanity may be to try to duplicate the experiment to get more answers about the future, though this is certain to cause more death and destruction in the present.