The Hot Zone: A Scary TruthRichard Preston weaves a true story into the chilling tale of an Ebola virus (a pathogen smaller than a bacteria, made of a shell made of proteins and membranes and a nucleus containing DNA or RNA. A virus depends on living cells to replicate.) which occurs in a laboratory in the suburbs of Washington, DC in 1989. In this laboratory, monkeys used in scientific experiments quickly become ill and die. to a filovirus (A family of viruses that includes only Ebola and Marburg.). From this introduction, Preston recounts an explosive chain of deadly transmissions (Sore of biological Meldown in which a deadly infectious agent spreads explosively through a population, killing a large percentage of the population.), which begins far from this laboratory in Washington, DC and allows the laboratory to become a hot zone (Area containing deadly and infectious organisms.). In graphic detail, Preston presents the collapse of the body of a man, Charles Monet, who is invaded by a filovirus in a part of the African rainforests which also introduces the world to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, the cause of AIDS. It is an emerging level 2 agent originating from the tropical forests of Africa. Its exact origin is unknown. Its ultimate level of penetration into the human species is now completely unknown.) of the virus via the Kinshasa highway. (AIDS Highway. The main route by which HIV traveled as it emerged from the rainforest of Central Africa. The route connects Kinshasa, Zaire, to East Africa.). This becomes the first known index case (first known case in an infectious disease outbreak. It sometimes spreads the disease widely.) and allows extreme amplification (multiplication of a virus anywhere in a host, transforming part of the host into a virus.) the virus spreads its billions of replicated copies, triggering a chain of deadly transmissions that could ultimately threaten the entire population of the United States and the world if it develops into a major epidemic. The history of these filoviruses, Ebloa and Marburg (closely related to Ebola. Originally called extended rabies virus.), are presented by Preston in detail and capture the reader's interest by showing their ability to destroy the human race and the impact they have and will play in the lives of the characters in the story. real-life characters, especially those from the United States.