This thriller deals with the real possibility of terrorists using germ warfare as a threat against whatever target appeals at the moment. Anyone who believes that germ warfare is unlikely should read, for example, the news about current problems at the Centers for Disease Control that required closures of two laboratories: Live anthrax bacteria were mistakenly transferred to an unsuspecting laboratory, endangering the lives of workers; and a benign flu was accidentally contaminated with the dangerous H5N1 bird flu strain. In addition, vials of live smallpox virus were recently discovered in a cabinet at the National Institutes of Health, where they had been stored since the 1950's.