This prophetic story by one of today's most important non-fiction writers and Pulitzer Prize winner warns against the arrogance of power and the fragility of our world.
An unusually large number of young people are dying in an Indonesian refugee camp, reportedly of haemorrhagic fever. The World Health Organization sends top American epidemiologist Henry Parsons to the site to collect samples. He finds tents full of corpses at the scene, including doctors among the victims. He is sure that the ravaging disease is something new, unknown, still emerging and evolving. Scientific and medical teams arrive at the crippled camp. At the same time, it is essential to track down all potentially infected people who have left the site in recent months as soon as possible. One of them is a Muslim taxi driver heading with millions of believers on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
As scientists and doctors struggle to uncover a ruthless opponent, the disease decimates populations across the planet, and Henry's wife Jill and their children face ever-lower odds of survival. Panic and conspiracy theories are spreading. The suspicion is that it is not a natural virus, but that it came from a laboratory. Tense international relations are escalating. A group is forming in the US government, convinced that the virus is an act of biological warfare, and is preparing to respond to the alleged attack with an equally risky response. Now it's no longer just about stopping a pandemic, it's about saving civilization.
The prophetic story of one of today's most important non-fiction writers and Pulitzer Prize winner warns us of the arrogance of power and the fragility of our world. Moreover, it is a fascinating journey into the history of pathogens and infectious diseases. The book has been translated into 14 languages, including Chinese and Japanese.