When three young farmworkers die suddenly of a brain disease, the Medical Research Council feels compelled to investigate. Dr Ian Bannerman, consultant pathologist and expert on brain disease, is sent to make discreet enquiries. But in north-east Scotland, Bannerman finds plenty of cause for alarm - and terror.He discovers a brainless corpse in an Edinburgh morgue; a dead man at the foot of a Hebridean cliff; suspicious local farmers; threats from the nearby nuclear power station - and more horrifying evidence of the disease. But what is the cause? A deadly virus that has crossed the species barrier - or a murderous conspiracy of men?Either way, human life is increasingly under threat. Especially Bannerman's . . .Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council.This book was first published by Simon & Schuster Ltd. (UK) in 1993.