The Chief disappeared behind the French doors of his mansion. After locking himself inside the walnut-paneled office, he settled in front of the computer. He entered a seven-letter code. The monitor flashed to life, displaying columns of colorful icons. For a long moment the cursor hovered over an icon shaped like an oblong coffin.

Under it was a caption: Red Twenty-Nine.

He clicked on the icon, then typed another password. A grainy, black and white video flickered onto the screen. He fast-forwarded it until he found what he was looking for. Then he set it to slow motion. Leaning back, he gazed at the flow of images. Soon they overpowered his senses.

He squeezed his eyes shut, but the images were still there, playing out the final scenes of his life as a man.

more excerpts

A famed athlete undergoes a routine operation. Six weeks later he is dead, the victim of a bizarre illness. Two thousand miles away, a radio announcer dies after suffering a similar illness.

Coincidence? Kate Adams, a strong-willed biologist, does not think so. Worse, she believes the deaths may be the start of an epidemic.

She challenges the athlete's surgeon, Dr. Greg Dostoyov, to investigate. Hounded by the media and guilt-ridden that he was responsible for the athlete's death, Greg finally accepts Kate's challenge.

The perilous quest starts in a remote corner of Scotland and ends in Southern California in a surprising and explosive conclusion.

The potential abuses of medicine have always intrigued me. As a physician and writer, I became convinced the topic would make for great fiction.

Read and enjoy!

I. J. Sarfeh