As the synfood system collapses, America and the world, face famine on a scale never before encountered. Dan, along with his lover and deputy, Ruth, attempt to put the full resources of the Department of Agriculture behind their plan to prevent the coming debacle. But, after not getting any cooperation from the corrupt President or any of the 'only-here-for-the-money' politicians, they realize they alone are the overcrowded world's last hope. But can Ruth, a socially-inept physicist with only a minimal understanding of biology, find a way out of the morass? And if the military learns of her dangerous, more-powerful-than-a-hydrogen-bomb discovery, will they confiscate it and have her killed?