Mayhem In the Mist

by Golda Fruchter Brunhild

The mist appears one hot summer day, and it's clearly not natural. Icy green clouds don't usually cover the entire North American continent, nor does mist usually transform everyone it touches into temporarily frozen statues. The cloud dissipates as mysteriously as it appeared, leaving no apparent ill effects. Most people chalk it up to a bizarre anomaly and get on with their lives. For Spencer Martin, however, the mystery continues to deepen. An investigative reporter for the LA Daily Observer, Martin's determined to uncover the cause of the phenomenon. The first break in the story comes with a sample of green sludge, but what, if anything, does it have to do with the cloud and a botched small-town murder investigation? An encounter with sultry Saudi chemist Abidah Bashrabi leads Spencer to her grandfather, owner and lead researcher of Jhedek Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures a revolutionary new diabetes cure. Cold-blooded and amoral, Dr. Bashrabi will take any steps necessary to conceal his connection to the mist. Torn between the sensual Abidah and captivating but stable businesswoman Ginger Blake, Spencer finds himself draw into a maelstrom of conspiracy, intrigue, and deception, where powerful interests manipulate disease, finances, and, it seems, even the mist.