The novel's central figure, Dr. Marcus Ford, is Chief of the Trauma Unit at the realistic Willowbrook Medical Center located in Los Angeles' combat zone. Dr. Ford is the reader's narrator, teacher, and erstwhile hero. He is aptly portrayed with an ego befitting a trauma specialist, but the humanity of a health care provider.

Omega's medical genre is well-handled. The emergency room scenes are realistic and action-charged. The portrayal of concerned providers is usually not overdone. Their on-the-job emotions are kept in check by professional detachment. Similarly the reader is protected from the full spectrum of potential gore. While disintegration of the body's organs is inherently violent and unsettling, this book does not overdo the "blood and guts."

Dr. Ford educates the reader. Penicillin was invented in 1928, and thirty or so years later, medical experts were predicting that drug technology would eliminate infectious diseases. There would be no more suffering from killer diseases like scarlet fever, pneumonia, syphilis, typhoid, meningitis, and tuberculosis. However, in the early 60's organisms resistant to penicillin began to surface.

Dr. Ford does a very good job explaining, in relative lay person terms, the vicious cycle that has developed. Penicillin and its equivalents have caused the disease organisms to adapt. As the numbers of organisms invulnerable to simple antibiotics have multiplied, commercial manufacturers continue to discover and market new antibiotics at spiraling rates. These "miracle" drugs are overused, misused, and abused by health care providers and patients. The disease organisms continue to evolve.

The central intrigue regards the possible existence of a miracle cure. Does it exist? Will it work? If the drug is introduced too soon, will the organisms mutate into more virulent strains? The technical experts maintain their philosophical differences, but their disagreements lead to ugly conspiracies.

Unfortunately, the novel takes a rather melodramatic turn when Dr. Ford's daughter becomes infected. Since disease outbreak is still quite limited, this improbable occurrence stands out as an unnecessary plot manipulation.

A second glaring exception to realism is the relationship between the trauma chief and the infection control specialist – Dr. Patou. Ego and turf protection in the emergency room are to be expected. Similarly, hospitals' infection control specialists are expected to be zealots. However, the clash between Drs. Patou and Ford is overdone.

The flaws are not overly distracting. The story flows well and the lead character is nicely developed. The medical thriller aficionado will find this book pleasant, albeit unspectacular.

--Steve Nemmers