Book excerpt: Trust within Parker Memorial Hospital suffers three months after an earthquake and deadly viral outbreak. Dr. Curtis Webb, on probation, struggles with depression and his relationship with Anne Winters, a charge nurse. The NIH selects PMH for a new Federal Biosafety Lab. David Milliken, the new PMH general counsel, hides his covert role in biolab projects. The Department of Homeland Security wants the biosafety lab to unfold fast, bypassing the usual competitive process. Curtis is appointed project director but refuses to take part in the dangerous plan. Values are tested through self-serving actions and a dangerous reordering of old and new relationships. The truth forces hard choices on them all.