"At the very outset, it is vital to understand what Hagia Sophia represents here: the loving, intimate, kind, helpful and practical aspect of Holy Wisdom in each individual and, at the same time, the great ordering principal of the physical creation of the cosmos," writes Alice O. Howell in this lively companion to The Dove in the Stone. The author returns again to Iona where she and her husband reflect upon soul and the inner meaning of numbers and geometric structures, found everywhere in nature and creation.

Howell believes that Sophia and her playful spirit help us appreciate the mysteries of the universe and the messages to be found in everyday experience. As she and her husband visit the holy sites on Iona, they share their dreams, puzzle over the origins of certain words, and philosophize about circles, points, dividing lines, rectangles, and squares. They are like detectives trying to find fresh clues to the unity of the universe. The outer world reflects the inner world, and everything is a cause for delight.

After reading The Web in the Sea, you will have a fresh appreciation for the geometry of a crystal or a flower and for the idiosyncrasies of numbers. The last section of the book contains exercises for further exploration of geometric structures in nature, in the psyche, and in our daily lives.