MAGENTA

This Cold War sci-fi thriller was inspired by a book I first wrote in 1973. The draft copy, typewritten on an old Remington machine, was left forgotten and unpublished until recently rediscovered, and brought back to life as MAGENTA. Margaret J Carr It's the late 1950s and the world is threatened with nuclear annihilation by the big world powers. One side is rumoured to have a further weapon, codenamed MAGENTA. A pathogen so virulent, once released into the atmosphere in a matter of weeks it will wipe out humanity. A highly contagious toxin that is invisible, quickly multiplies and disperses into the air, and with no ways to trace, attack and destroy, or no known treatment or antidote, time is running out. So, if it exists, which side has the ultimate biological agent? The western governments, the Iron Curtain countries, spies, secret and double agents, from every side disclaim all knowledge but the race is on to find the source. Is it manmade in a secret lab, or could it be connected to something arriving from outer space on a UFO? As each side investigates, interrogates, there are lies and counterintelligence, with few leads to tracing this deadliest of all biological warfare. Once released into the world's population could it really be the end of the world, or is MAGENTA a gigantic hoax created by one of the super powers? When a relatively unknown PhD botany specialist suddenly disappears the threat is taken seriously.