The eleventh plague: a novel of medical terror

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. 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.