Dr. Peter Mallow, a world-renowned university scientist hot on the trail of a lethal Asian bird flu, becomes concerned over the erratic behavior of his newest research student. He records his observations about the troubled young man in a common laboratory notebook. Mallows notes take us into a downward spiral of career destruction, corporate wrongdoing, a devastating hurricane, and the deadliest pandemic in history. Will Mallows notes survive? Can the virus be stopped? And who is the scientist destined to become a Nobel laureate?