Modern models of life are based on molecular biology. This is a micromechanical view of nature, and–to scientists–it is almost the ultimate in reductionism. Microscopists, however, look differently at life. Researchers are aware how cells behave, respond, and react. Ford aims to show how one’s holistic sense of familiarity with the living cell can fault some of the most widespread views of the modern world of biology. Rather than looking at the living cell as a puzzle on the point of solution, Ford shows it as an enduring mystery still beyond the reach of human understanding, and capable–within its own frame of reference–of surprising ingenuity.