A non-fiction account of the nightmarish events which took place in Washington DC when a lethal, highly infectious virus from the rain forests of tropical Africa crossed continents and resurfaced inside a house of imported monkeys. The author recreates the drama that unfolded among the team of American laboratory workers and scientists who discovered the virus in the monkey house and struggled desperately to contain it. It shows with clarity man's weakness in the face of the ferocious power of microorganisms which are equipped to survive and prosper.