By the time authorities realize that Ana Bontierre has died from a lethal strain of the avian flu, she has already infected a dozen other residents of a quaint town in northern Wyoming. Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control are puzzled by the strange hand-drawn tattoo on her inner thigh. Within weeks, similar outbreaks occur in Hong Kong, Bangkok, and other metropolises, leading virologists from the CDC, World Health Organization and FBI on a wild goose chase. Eventually, they discover a pattern to the outbreaks. Dr. Jeffrey Plattenburg, a profiler for the FBI, believes that he is dealing with a serial killer who is purposefully infecting selected women with the deadly H5N1 strain of the avian flu. Other prominent doctors believe that the tattoos are a CDC cover-up to hide the fact that the genetic blueprint of the 1918 Spanish flu was stolen. As a global pandemic threatens the world, and thousands of victims lie dead, pharmaceutical companies scramble to mass-produce a flu vaccination. Dr. Plattenburg's search for the common denominator among the victims leads him back to Wyoming where the Bontierres' attorney, Mary MacIntosh, follows the clues the pandemic predator has planted and finds herself at the mercy of a madman with a desire to kill on a global scale.