In this absorbing narrative, Dr. Chris Honey, an accomplished neurosurgeon, weaves his personal journey together with case studies that reflect the thrill of scientific discovery and the limitations of medicine. Operating on a terminally ill child amid an Ebola outbreak in Liberia, he questions his preconceptions about what it means to "win" against a disease. With a compassionate eye, he traces the courage and determination of several patients suffering from mysterious, unrecognized illnesses, and invites us into the operating room with Dr. Honey and his team to witness the extraordinary discovery-involving the tenth cranial nerve-of an entirely new disease and its cure. And, outside the OR, an unusual friendship with a former patient alters his perspective on clinical detachment, and what "quality of life" really means.