[2] In 1995, a made-for-television film adaptation of the book titled "Robin Cook's Virus" (later renamed Formula for Death), was released starring Nicollette Sheridan and William Devane.

When the director of a Los Angeles health maintenance clinic dies from an untreatable and aggressive virus that also kills seven of his patients, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta responds with a state of high alert.

What initially appears to be a localized health scare quickly expands as similar outbreaks occur in unrelated geographical areas across the country.

Each outbreak shares commonalities: the locations are always health-care facilities and the victims are exclusively physicians and their patients.

As the death toll rises, Blumenthal uncovers clues that suggest deliberate human involvement.