I would get stuck with an archenemy who won't stay dead...

"Why do I have to pay a toll? No one else is forking out dough, you big baboon."

I wouldn't recommend repeating those words to anyone who is dangling you a foot off the ground. My face suddenly felt like it had collided with a cement wall at forty miles per hour. I found myself sliding across the tile floor and coming to rest in the corner of the hallway.

"You hit me!" I rubbed my jaw in disbelief. Damian had always seemed a level-headed sort of guy. "I can't believe you hit me!"

"I'll do a lot worse than that!" A handful of spectators scrambled out of the way as he lunged for me. I dove behind a bench outside the high school office. The secretary never even looked up. I hoped word of my death in front of the wide, newly installed security window didn't leak out to the city's more violent criminal element...

I just can't catch a break. Most of my friends only concern themselves with girls and grades, but I have to worry about retaliation from hellish warlords. When three of my classmates succumb to a strange malady, I become the target of irrational violence. Is it a coincidence, as Elena so firmly believes? Or could there be a deeper, more evil explanation?

When the epidemic goes national, my team and I are called on to uncover the root of the problem before violence breaks out on a worldwide stage. Our quest leads us to the heart of Africa, to the underworld, and to a second encounter with an enemy who just won't stay dead.