Something has been set loose in the city -- an airborne horror that leaves a tunnel full of corpses below the streets of Seattle just as experts from fifty nations are gathering at a downtown hotel for an international symposium on chemical and biological weapons. Terror has hit the West Coast with a vengeance -- as a deadly tide sweeps into Frank Corso's town.

"Disgraced" rogue journalist and reclusive bestselling author Corso is at an exhibition showcasing the photographs of his best friend and ex-lover Meg Dougherty when terror strikes.

The deeper he immerses himself in a shadow world of senseless violence and unconscionable evil, the stronger the connections appear that tie one brutal death with the impending destruction of thousands -- perhaps millions -- of innocent lives. And suddenly Corso is caught up in a deadly conspiracy where the nightmarish consequences dwarf anything normally spawned by vengeance, greed, or bloodlust.