Some 15 billion years ago, a titanic explosion created space & time & started the universe on its epic journey towards ever greater complexity. Out of a tiny primordial speck was woven an immense tapestry of hundreds of billions of galaxies, each home to as many stars. In one of those galaxies, on a planet circling a nondescript star, there emerged human beings with the ability to marvel at the beauty & harmony of the cosmos. In clear, simple language, this account explains the Big Bang & its ever-expanding consequences.