Moving out of the suspense field, this is an expansive, extensive but consistently sustained story of a young scientist, his ambivalence between the intellecutal, idealistic world of the pure physicist and the profit incentives of the industrial. This follows Erik Gorin, from his younger years at Columbia as a research fellow, intense, impatient, moneyless, and needling his superior to push through their project so that he can get a job, marry his Savina. As an instructor, first at Michigan, later at a smaller college, Erik runs up against the illiberal, restrictive policies of the academic world, goes into industry where he hopes to tie up a patent which will make him rich. In so doing, his marriage to Savina- which has already had its cool spots- almost fails. But when Erik is slapped down, his invention shelved, he regains his integrity, goes back to pure science and thwarts an industrial-political attempt to knuckle in on atomic energy... A lot of popular variants and values here, romantic, ethical, marital,- this should please a wide audience.