As she climbed across the table

What if your lover left you for, well, nothing? Literally nothing. Particle physicist Alice Coombs and her colleagues are on the cusp of an extraordinary discovery. They have created a void, a hole in the universe, a true nothingness that they have named "Lack." Philip Engstrand, a professor who studies other professors, has made a breakthrough of his own - he now understands how deeply he loves Alice.

Lack, though, is no ordinary black hole: It swallows certain things - a pomegranate, argyle socks, mirrored sunglasses - but displays no appetite for a bow tie, an ice ax, or scrambled duck eggs. This is a void that displays the outlines of a personality: a nothingness that, as Philip comes to realize, utterly obsesses his beloved. Alice, it becomes apparent, has fallen out of love with Philip and in love with Lack.