A catastrophic new disease spread by prions (twisted, disfigured proteins) arises in Yellowstone Park and spreads rapidly among deer, elk, moose, and other wild species). Initially nicknamed "Zombie Deer" due to the drooling, staggering gait and glazed eyes of the victims, it always carried the risk of jumping to humans?a zoonotic spillover like AIDS, Covid, and many others. Now, in the late 2020s, it has made that dreaded leap. Through hunting and eating toxic venison and contact with the bodily fluids of sick animals in the soil, the human race is at risk as never before. There is no cure, no treatment, and no recovery. Because a prion is not alive like a virus or bacteria, there can be no vaccine,
Researchers named the pestilence Acquired Prion Sociopathy Syndrome (APSS). It resembles "Mad Cow" in its incurability and fatality. With a decades-long symptomless incubation period, people have no idea they are infected and doomed. Worse, the disease eats away at the brain and subtly turns many carriers into psychopaths.
As the outbreak sweeps across the country, society collapses. The government responds with brutal force, deploying militarized "Infection Control Squads" to incarcerate anyone who tests positive. Sufferers are microchipped and hunted like animals for imprisonment on Gulags until they die.
ZOE OHRBACH, a sharp, sensitive Silicon Valley writer, discovers to her horror that her beloved partner BRIAN SNYDER, was exposed while hunting deer with his uncle years ago. His positive test drives them both underground in their now-deserted condominium complex, preparing to flee when the military shows up. But where can they go?
Zoe, vowing to protect Brian and remain at his side, orchestrates a high-stakes flight. She has learned of a sanctuary called "Destination Hope" hidden in the scorching expanse of the remote Mojave Desert. Here, they will be safe as they await the cure that researchers are desperately seeking.
But the sanctuary holds a treacherous secret. After their harrowing journey, Zoe and Brian discover it is actually a sinister laboratory conducting radical medical experiments on infected hostages. Instead of a haven, Destination Hope is a medical prison that takes Brian captive.
While seeking a way to free Brian, Zoe befriends a brilliant evolutionary biologist, SETH, who falls deeply in love with her. Against her will, she begins an erotic affair. Nevertheless, when Brian, with the help of sympathetic security guards, breaks out, Zoe chooses to flee with hm. But Brian is not the man he was. He strands her in the brutal wilderness miles from civilization. Can Zoe survive and find her way back?
