This is the third novel of a trilogy that began with RECURSION and CAPACITY. Set in the 23rd century, the nannying of humanity by government and computers is the cause of some discomfort and rebellion. Along the way, a truly strange quantum based menace threatens to destroy humanity. The various conflicts come to a head in DIVERGENCE.

Ballantyne, a former maths major/teacher, peppers the novels with mathematical references and allusions, with lots of fractals and von Neumann machines throughout. DIVERGENCE gets the most explicit, with the uncertainty principle written out, references made to impossible mathematical objects, and the mathematical inevitability of general equilibrium in economics.