It was meeting her out of it that nearly killed him. Her touch was as potent as her plea for help. Now, it's not only Denaro who needs help. A virus that's unknown to medical science, but that Rick soon begins to recognise. After all, he's seen it often enough in his lab - where he identifies plant diseases.
Survival is only the beginning.
He has yet to salvage a life from the terrifying side-effects of the infection. Then he must decide how far he's willing to go to stop the spread of the disease, and whether he's still human enough to make sacrifices for his race. Before she realizes it, however, Zida and her crewmates find themselves the victims of a plot hatched years earlier on Earth. They are swept up into violence, tragedy and madness. Now, with the main body of the expedition forced to return to Earth, Zida has elected to stay behind with a research team seeking what may be the key to human immortality.