Instant New York Times Bestseller Good Morning America Book Club Pick A must-read debut! Meet Elizabeth Zott: a one-of-a-kind scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved Tv cooking show in this novel that is irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel. It reminds you that change takes time and always requires heat (The New York Times Book Review). It's the world versus Elizabeth Zott, an extraordinary woman determined to live on her own terms, and I had no trouble choosing a side.... A page-turning and highly satisfying tale: zippy, zesty, and Zotty. Maggie Shipstead, best-selling author zof Great Circle Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with of all things her mind. True chemistry results. But like science, life is unpredictable.