How a Humboldt Foundation fellow joined China's military commission:

This is not a spy thriller. We have therefore deliberately chosen not to name names. This is a story about the ethical gray zone of scientific collaboration between Germany and China.

There is a woman, a physicist, specializing in theoretical particle physics. After obtaining her Ph.D in China, she moves to Europe, initially for two years' research at a renowned institute of nuclear physics in Italy. She then spends three years at two German universities in Hamburg and Mainz. Scientific cooperation with China is politically desired in Germany. The government believes it has "special significance for the long-term stability of bilateral relations."