Stallion Gate — Martin Cruz Smith

This is a novel about the most important ten seconds in history -- a “superb [and] ambitious” (The New York Times) blend of love, betrayal, jazz, and war in the atomic age, from the New York Times bestselling author of Gorky Park.

“A splendid tale of intrigue and espionage . . . an extraordinarily good novel.” -- The Washington Post Book World

Los Alamos, New Mexico, 1945. Robert Oppenheimer's team of elite scientists race to develop the atomic bomb that will force Japan's surrender. Captain Augustino, Chief of Security, is convinced Oppenheimer and mathematician Anna Weiss are Soviet spies and uses Sergeant Joe Peña, Oppenheimer's Indian driver, to prove it. But Augustino cannot control Joe's mounting inner conflicts of loyalty -- to Oppenheimer himself; to Anna, who becomes his lover; to his fellow Indians displaced by the vast test site; and to his army comrades back in the Pacific whose lives the bomb may save.

Meanwhile, a countdown has begun that will change destiny itself. . . .