In the year 88 BC, King Mithradates of Anatolia died suddenly after an
apparent poisoning. His son, Prince Mithradates, then disappeared for
seven years into the woods where he collected hemlock plants and other
deadly poisons. Upon his return, he shared a fatal meal with his mother
and brother. Mithradates, who ultimately became King, somehow left the
meal unharmed.
In modern-day Turkey, a young boy endures a bite from a venomous viper.
His doctor reports that the child experienced no ill effects and
suggests the existence of a universal immunity in his blood, possibly as
a descendant of Mithradates. And then the battle over his blood sample
begins, attracting vigilantes who will stop at nothing to get their
hands on the immunity. They even go so far as to steal young boy's
hematology reports--and then murder the doctor who made the discovery.
Word of the discovery made in his Holt Foundation children's hospital
quickly spreads across continents to Lang Reilly. Lang decides he and
his wife, Gurt, must travel to Turkey to get to the bottom of these
tragic events. Soon after arriving in Trabzon, Turkey, Lang's house is
burglarized, his rental car is attacked by phony police officers, and
his wife is abducted from their hotel room by members of the Turkish
mafia. Lang's life is not the only one in danger, and he must work fast
to gain possession of the immunity before it is too late.
