Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta is confronted with two gruesome crime scenes: five mutilated bodies found in Ireland and four similar victims discovered at a local landfill. As the investigation widens, it becomes clear that these are not isolated incidents but part of a larger conspiracy involving an escaped virus from a decades-old outbreak. Tensions escalate when a shadowy figure begins taunting Scarpetta with cryptic messages and disturbing images, forcing her to race against time as the true scope of the threat—and its connection to a deadly pathogen —is revealed.
Patricia Cornwell is the author of the bestselling Kay Scarpetta series, including Cause of Death. She's a master of the crime fiction genre, known for her gripping medical thrillers.