June 2037: Singaporean immunology professor Warren Er is woken in the early morning to answer a question he had written five years ago. The classified protocol he had designed has been activated. It summons the world’s best scientists to respond to the possible discovery of an unknown, potentially dangerous organism foreign to science.

Flying to China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, Warren realizes the situation is anything but what he had planned for. He and his five colleagues are sealed into a secret underground facility, alongside a visiting US-Chinese bilateral delegation now detained in the name of national security.

In Beijing, China’s First Vice-Premier sees a chance to strengthen his position as the Party Congress looms; in the US, the newly appointed President’s Science and Technology Adviser finds herself a key part of an American response handicapped by geopolitical realities.

Facing unfamiliar circumstances rapidly evolving beyond their control, all those involved must protect their own interests and themselves…