Emma Streat is rebuilding her shattered life in Boston when she receives an SOS from Venice. She must come at once to intervene in a disastrous affair between her opera singer niece, Vanessa, and a notorious playboy. But when Emma and Vanessa return home, Vanessa is struck down by what appears to be the first case of avian flu in the United States. As the case assumes a larger, international aspect, Emma finds herself working again with a charismatic British peer. After two shocking murders, Emma has to rev up her now-established talent for making unlikely connections, in order to smoke out a lethal global network that sells stolen viruses, and save herself from a painful and horrifying death.