First published 2012
Microbiologist Hallie Leland thought she was done with government secrets when they fired her from a classified lab. Then the White House calls. A mysterious disease is killing soldiers in Afghanistan and threatens to spread worldwide. The president compares it to Pearl Harbor. Millions will die without a cure. Hallie knows more about the rare organism needed for an antibiotic than anyone alive. The problem is where it lives: at the bottom of the world's deepest cave. She assembles a team including Wil Bowman, a special operations soldier who understands both advanced weapons and microbiology. First they must survive the Mexican jungle, where drug cartels and corrupt police hunt them. Then comes the cave itself, with its flooded passages, acid lakes, and endless darkness. But Hallie faces worse than natural dangers. A traitor in Washington wants her mission to fail. An assassin waits underground to ensure she never returns. As the epidemic spreads, Hallie descends deeper into the earth and into a conspiracy that could destroy her team.
Genres: science-fiction, medical, adventure, mystery, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Afghanistan, Mexico, Washington
Period: 21st-century
418 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: medical-trauma