When nick hears about the dead man found in the desert, he doesn't give it much thought. only thirty minutes from the mexican border, corpses have a funny way of turning up in the strangest places. but this is no ordinary corpse. the dead man's driver's license says he is 44 years old, but the medical examiner claims the body is that of a man named alex dodson in his 90's. why the age discrepancy? dodson's research was intended to study the effects of the progeria disease, in hopes of finding a way to arrest the process. but dodson inadvertently creates a terrifying new biological weapon, which certain parties will do anything to get their hands on. before nick realizes it, he's hot on the trail of a vicious killer, is sidetracked by a beautiful female homicide detective, and is almost killed by a kgb agent who never heard of glasnost. in order to recover the lethal bio-weapon and save the city from a disease deadlier than aids, nick must stay alive long enough to find out who really killed alex dodson and solve the medical mystery of the century.