One false step and Dr. Ilsa Kivi, crack epidemiologist, will take humanity with her into the abyss. In McKenzie's debut novel, Dr. Ilsa Kivi, ex-CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer, is hanging on by a thread. COVID-19 snatched her adopted daughter, Bea--along with her once high-flying career, and just maybe her sanity. Beatrice has been dead a year, and still the medical bills come. Her ex-boss, now the sole source of funding for her small Seattle-based research concern, is attaching strings to his generosity. And tucked into the day's mail stack of past-due notices is a cryptic note from a Wuhan scientist.

Ilsa does not have time for the drama.