The Stars That Govern Us
A gifted young surgeon. One of the twentieth century's boldest inventions. And the unconquerable, fragile, and astonishing human heart.
In the mid-1950s, Alec Serafeim and his best friend, Pete O'Neill, are among only two dozen surgical teams worldwide performing lifesaving operations on children with congenital heart defects. It is a field of relentless pressure and impossible odds, where the line between life and death is eyelash-thin.
Pete is satisfied with all they have achieved-but Alec aches for more. Still haunted by the memory of a devastating mental breakdown ten years earlier, Alec is determined to push the boundaries of what medicine can do-and to be remembered for something greater.
When the opportunity arises to attempt Australia's first open-heart surgery using total cardiopulmonary bypass, Alec seizes it. With a heart-lung machine cobbled together in the hospital basement and a gravely ill child on the table, he moves forward-despite Pete's growing concerns.
But the heart, for all its strength, is still so easily broken.
And when Alec's world comes crashing down, it will take more than science to put him back together. As children's lives hang in the balance-and his future as a surgeon teeters on the edge-Alec must confront his deepest wounds and rediscover what it means to heal.
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