Washoe County Library System

George Galen is a brilliant scientist, a pioneer in gene therapy. But Galen is dangerously insane. He has created a method to alter human DNA, not just to heal diseases but also to "improve people": make them stronger, make them able to heal more quickly...and make them compliant to his will.

Frank Hartman is also a brilliant virologist, working for the government's ultra-secret biohazard agency. He has discovered how to neutralize Galen's

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Raised by parents so intentionally isolated that they speak their own hybrid dialect, abused youth Marjorie witnesses her parents' submission to a sadistic cult leader before she is rescued by another abuse survivor who teaches her stoneworking skills.