Nice! In her Stellar Patrol world, in the same time frame as the big series (right after the Arcturian war), but a completely different set of characters and circumstances. There is, however, another self-blaming man - very annoying. Yes, sure, if you had known what nobody knew, you could have stopped all this before it happened. This is reality, and by the time you knew anything it was already too late... The protagonist is a medical researcher, ex-Navy medic; the other major characters are another medical researcher, the Commissioner for Public Health, and (later on) a reporter. A plague virus - known, but not studied, for years - shows up in the middle of a major metropolis, and we get a tense medical drama dealing with the effects. I wish the answer had come from someone other than the protagonist - he's a little too much of a miracle-worker - but it doesn't spoil the story. Some very grim bits, especially on the rescue teams finding the people who didn't get to a hospital in time; the stress of that work is made clear in the characters' actions and words. And a happy ending, with lots of marriages and even good jobs for everyone. As usual with P.M. Griffin, it's the characters that make the book - though I think she cheated just a little, by making the virus make its victims talk about all their secrets. Nobody has to wonder about anyone's past, here. Great story, and it makes me want to read more of hers again. ( )