The Scorpius bacteria ravaged humanity and those that were infected are forever changed. Some are losing grip on their sanity, some are becoming more aggressive and others are becoming psychopaths.

This is actually a prequel so you could easily read this before starting on the series properly but easily fits into the narrative if you have already read some of the books.

Hugh and Ellie were friends at university and could have been more but neither were willing to lose their friendship and Hugh always felt he was just her nerdy lab partner. Fast forward a decade and Ellis is now part of a secretive department within the US government combating this new virus and she has been sent to recruit Hugh into the same department.

Hugh is the new guy so he really has to work hard to gain the trust of his new team, no matter how much Ellie backs him up.  I love the easy way Hugh and Ellie go from acquaintances, to friends to lovers. The suspense and pandemic elements are really well written (and having now gone through COVID I think we can agree people lose their minds with a pandemic!) A great read and well paced and the mix of romance and suspense felt balanced.  A great intro to the series.