When Gabriel scatters botulism toxin at a concert in an attempt to extort a fortune from the city, nineteen people die and Danny Murphy finds a gun. Danny's best friend is among the dead and he wants Gabriel's blood. But the death toll keeps rising, the hospitals are overflowing, and no one knows how Gabriel is spreading the poison.

Danny's need for revenge grows as the body count soars. Then another source of poison is discovered. Common bacteria are pumping out botulism. The city is quarantined in a desperate attempt to prevent a pandemic and the search for Gabriel becomes desperate. The new plague must not escape the city, but it is hard to find an extortionist unless you know what he really wants.

The city becomes a pressure cooker. The crematoria burn day and night. Danny stalks Gabriel through panicked streets while his family falls apart and the city struggles to reinvent itself. Then Gabriel reveals his final secret and plague explodes around the world.