Intriguing strangers, cryptic puzzles, and secrets…so many secrets! In the spring of 1938, Ryne Healy graduates with honors from pharmacy school and joins his father's practice. In a few short months, Ryne's secure world is shattered with a single gunshot. He is pitched into the same roiling conflict that brought about his father's death; a battle for and against the unknown.
Now, Ryne must unravel the past using clues from Renaissance and Medieval medicine as well as memories from his childhood to piece together the ancient potion known as Theriac: a panacea—an ageless magic remedy that would render the keeper of the potion invincible.
Ryne's quest leads him around the globe and with every twist, he finds answers in the humblest of places and from the most unexpected people. As the race escalates, Ryne takes a gamble and throws in with an unlikely crew determined to stop a maniacal disciple of natural selection from his goal of a superior race and world domination.