HARD PROBLEMS follows the six exceptional high school students who represented the United States in 2006 at the world's toughest math competition - the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Each year, the grueling and exhilarating contest pits the top teams from 90 countries against one another. In their quest to solve some of the most challenging problems, these dedicated and talented young men and women - some immigrants, others U.S.-born - shatter many stereotypes and cliches about the mathematically gifted. HARD PROBLEMS provides an insightful and thoughtful look at the process that produces and nurtures successful Olympiad teams, and ultimately, the great mathematicians of the future.