Her presence in his life was unexpected-she a landlord, he a tenant; she a vibrant Russian-born scientist, he a journalism professor near retirement. He had come to Durham on a mission to save himself at the world-famous Duke Diet and Fitness Center. She was a brilliant neuroscientist breaking new ground in the labs at Duke on the link between short-term memory and schizophrenia. She was inaccessible-a demanding lab schedule, a deep commitment to her Orthodox faith, emotionally isolated by the untimely death of her fiance ten years previous. Her only escape was to lose herself in Russian...

Her presence in his life was unexpected-she a landlord, he a tenant; she a vibrant Russian-born scientist, he a journalism professor near retirement. He had come to Durham on a mission to save himself at the world-famous Duke Diet and Fitness Center. She was a brilliant neuroscientist breaking new ground in the labs at Duke on the link between short-term memory and schizophrenia. She was inaccessible-a demanding lab schedule, a deep commitment to her Orthodox faith, emotionally isolated by the untimely death of her fiance ten years previous. Her only escape was to lose herself in Russian...