Was the Covid-19 virus released... too soon? Mitch Gordon may know the answer to that question. Thinking her career as a professional hacker is over and happily retired, Mitch embarks on an around-the-world odyssey, odd-jobbing her way through Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. But, in early 2020, when the global pandemic starts, she finds herself stuck in Hong Kong, house-sitting for a couple of Australian expats, Fiona and Andy McAllister. What promises to be a mundane few months soon turns out to be anything but. As the weeks pass, Mitch finds herself ensnared in a complex web. First, a scientist from Wuhan she met back in Bangkok surfaces, trying to escape from the Chinese Communist Party. Then a fugitive democracy activist in Hong Kong enters her life, also on the lam but from the Hong Kong authorities. On top of that, Mitch starts to suspect Andy McAllister knows more about the causes of the pandemic than he is letting on. As conspiracy theories start to swirl, Mitch has no choice but to return to hacking, especially when she learns the CCP may be looking for her, too