Dr. Isabel Stanhope grew up in African refugee camps and returned after obtaining her medical licenses. She gained notoriety for discovering unnoticed patterns in diseases and taking early action. But after burning out she returns to the US, deliberately taking a low level position with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. When an outbreak of avian flu turns deadly, Isabel pursues understanding of what is making this disease so lethal. She discovers the outbreak may be man-made and someone is manipulating the infections to make it almost impossible to contain. As the outbreak turns into a pandemic and death counts balloon, health facilities become overwhelmed. Isabel learns there may be an even bigger and more insidious plot that only she can prevent.