For Dr Steven J. Fisher, love is no more than a chemical equation - and he's nearly solved it. A brilliant young biochemist who spends all his time in an Oxford research lab studying orgasms, Fisher is on the brink of inventing a Viagra-like pill for women. For the pharma company that funds his work, the discovery of 'Whoosh!' (originally named 'Desiree' before they realised that was a kind of potato) will be a history-changing event.
But, just weeks before the product is due to launch, a last-minute case study ruins Fisher's perfect results. 'Miss G', an orgasmically-challenged PhD arts student (special subject: Victorian semicolons), isn't responding to the tests as expected. Strangely, the only stimulus to provoke a reaction is Dr Fisher's own voice.
As the scientist and his subject bond over Bunsen burner-lit meals, argue over Pink Floyd and converse in Runish at games of Swamps and Sorcerers, Dr Fisher's feelings crop up in the most unscientific ways...
Fisher usually has answers to everything, from the chemical composition of tears to the evolutionary reasons for kissing. But now he's facing the most bewildering puzzle of his career: what's love got to do with it? Could the outdated research of the Romantic poets enlighten him at all? With all this new data, he needs a new hypothesis. But what if there are some things science can't explain?