Includes bibliographical references and index.

A winter night -- A short history of sex -- Spontaneous ovlulatoins -- A go-to-hell look -- Lover and fighter -- Rabbit tests -- "I'm a sexologist" -- The socialite and the sex maniac -- A shotgun question -- Rock's rebound -- What makes a rooster crow? -- A test in disguise -- Cabeza de negro -- The road to shrewsbury -- "Weary & depressed" -- The trouble with women -- A San Juan weekend -- The women of the asylum -- John Rock's hard place -- As easy as aspirin -- A deadline to meet -- "The miracle tablet maybe" -- Hope to the hopeless -- Trials -- "Papa Pincus's pink pills for planned parenthood" -- Jack Searle's big bet -- The birth of the pill -- "Believed to have magical powers" -- The double effect -- La señora de las pastillas -- An unlikely pitch man -- "A whole new bag of beans" -- The climax -- Epilogue.

Immersed in radical feminist politics, scientific ingenuity, establishment opposition, and, ultimately, a sea change in social attitudes, this is the fascinating story of one of the most important scientific discoveries of the twentieth century.