Dr. Felix Hoenikker, one of the "fathers" of the atomic bomb, has bequeathed humanity a deadly legacy. He is the inventor of ice-nine, a dangerous substance capable of freezing the entire planet. Author Jonah's search for Hoenikker's whereabouts leads him to his three eccentric children, to an island republic in the Caribbean where the absurd religion of Bokononism is practiced, and to love and madness. With dry humor and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut paints a terrifying satire on global destruction and the folly of humanity in this cult classic.