Pharmageddon

It's the ultimate nightmare scenario. Nine million people depend, utterly, on anti-retroviral drugs to stay alive. But most of the active ingredients come from just three laboratories in India. Or at least they did - until all three were ripped apart by powerful explosions. Australian medical journalist Gipsy North is at the peak of her career, helping to launch a global online newspaper, when she is thrown into the center of this storm. While the United Nations desperately rallies governments and pharma to restore the international supply of antiretrovirals, North and her colleagues race to find out who is responsible for the bombings. Although it soon becomes obvious this story will define North's career, she has no idea that it will reshape a subcontinent and push the balance of power between the world's most powerful nations to the tipping point. Pharmageddon isn't true, but it could be. The story is based on Alastair Grant's extensive experience in journalism and HIV/AIDS, and his years living in the countries where the action takes place. This fast-paced thriller is set against the backdrop of the greatest public health challenge facing mankind, and raises important questions about the role of the online media in shaping our future.