Author Description

What if the ten plagues from the Book of Exodus were coming true in America today? What if they were not acts of God but the brilliantly fiendish creations of an evil genius? In this galvanizing novel of medical terror, death stalks the land, and the only hope of preventing a cataclysm beyond biblical proportions lies with one maverick virologist who is himself in danger of becoming either a suspect or a victim. In present-day Southern California, two children die of a disease thought to be nonexistent in the United States. Within hours, Thoroughbreds at the legendary Churchill Downs are dying of a virus that cannot be identified, even by the most expert veterinarians. Called in to help shed light on these gruesome enigmas, noted virologist Jack Bryne discovers that the two events are not only connected, they are deliberate acts of bioterrorism. When it occurs to him that the deaths bear uncanny similarities to the Fifth and Sixth Plagues described in Exodus, Bryne is convinced he's uncovered a growing progression of horrors. He's right, and every month another monstrosity claims its victims. Every month sees the reenactment of another even more catastrophic plague. Soon Bryne's worldwide medical computer network, ProMED, is invaded by the power behind the horrors, teasing him, challenging him--a morbidly brilliant serial killer with a dangerously sophisticated knowledge of toxins and an obsession with biblical retribution. Bryne, himself now considered a suspect by the FBI, must convince the Bureau of his innocence and joins forces with his brilliant lab assistant, a TV newswoman, and a young Orthodox Jewish religious scholar--to track down the maniac and stop him in time. But even Bryne cannot predict how close the killer is until he meets this modern medical Moriarty in a midnight confrontation that will determine the future of New York City. Written by one of this country's most respected public health figures, and a novelist with a genius fo