In this biological thriller of the near future, postinsurrection Mexico
has undermined the superpower of the United States. But while the
rivals battle over borders, a pestilence beyond politics threatens to
explode into a worldwide epidemic...
Since the rise of the
Holy Renaissance, Ascension – once known as Mexico City – has become the
most populous city in the world, its citizens linked to a central
government net through wetware implanted in their brains. But while
their dictator grows fat with success, the masses are captivated by
Sister Domenica, an insurgent nun whose weekly pirate broadcasts
prophesy a wave of death. All too soon, Domenica's nightmarish
prediction proves true, and Ascension's hospitals are overrun with
victims of a deadly fever. As the rampant plague kills too quickly to
be contained, Mexico smuggles its last hope over the violently
contested border...
Henry David Stark is a crack virus
hunter for the American Center for Disease Control and a veteran of
global humanitarian efforts. But this disease is unlike any he's seen
before – and there seems to be no way to cure or control it. Racing
against time, Stark battles corruption to uncover a horrifying truth:
this is no ordinary outbreak but a deliberately unleashed man-made
virus... and the killer is someone Stark knows.