After Boston experiences a seemingly inexplicable bio-terrorist attack, the Center for Disease Control's Dr. Dave Richards and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Paula Mushari once again join forces to uncover who is behind it. An obscure reference to a Dresden project found amid crash site evidence marks them both for execution. Paula and Dave are forced to leave Boston in the middle of the night and head to Washington, D.C., where they soon find that anyone they contact also becomes a target of assassins. When the daughter of the CDC's director is taken hostage, Dave and Paula come face to face with an evil that forces them to question the very nature of duty and service to country. With the help of one man, they learn the true meaning of dark operatives as they desperately try to determine the where and when for the next strike against the United States.