Dr. Angel Stuart is a young veterinarian with a research specialty in Zoonoses, diseases transmitted from animals to humans. Born in Russia, and adopted by a couple from Atlanta, she speaks Russian and English because her parents thought she should learn her native tongue. She loves ballet and life is great ... until she gets an interesting invitation from the President of the United States. When information about the location of an old Soviet-era bio-warfare dump full of anthrax spores is uncovered, the US and British governments want it checked for leakage or tampering. But the dump is no longer part of Russia, but in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet territory north of Afghanistan. They need an expert to investigate and find a way to secure the site before it leaks or is tampered with by Al Qaeda or the Taliban, either of which would prove disastrous to the region and possibly the world. Asked to be that expert, Angel goes to Moscow on a research grant to discover what she can and find a way to get to the burial site to check it out.