A light bulb falls in a subway tunnel, releasing a deadly pathogen. Within hours, a homeless man, a cop, and then dozens more start to die. Hospitals become morgues. 'L' trains become rolling hearses. Chicago is on the verge of chaos before the mayor finally acts, quarantining entire sections of the city. Meanwhile, cop-turned-PI Michael Kelly hunts for the people responsible. The search takes him into the tangled underworld of Chicago's west-side gangs and the even more terrifying world of black biology - an elite field operating covertly at the nation's top labs, where scientists play God and will do anything necessary to keep their secrets safe.