The Headhunter (Synopsis)

Lay-offs are common in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, but P. J. Griffin’s reaction is unique.  Unable to find a job for almost two years, Griffin decides to exact a desperate revenge on the corporate world.  He begins blackmailing corporate executives.  A twisted, modern-day Robin Hood, Griffin threatens to murder the CEO and his entire family unless the CEO hires an unemployed person who is deemed worthy by Griffin.  So, what’s in it for Griffin?  The newly employed person has six months to pay Griffin a finder’s fee of $10,000 cash.  Nice way to make a living—until the female head of virology for a large RTP drug company refuses to be blackmailed, and is later found dead.

 Unfortunately, murder turns out to be the least of Griffin’s worries.

To prevent the police finding a reference to him, Griffin steals the victim’s JumpDrive (a thumb-sized computer storage device).  But the stolen JumpDrive also contains the cure for a virus, which is currently killing large numbers of people in Peru.  A virus that has just reached the United States, and is evolving into a pandemic.

Greed and panic bring everyone to the table—ex-FBI agent Martin Baines, rival pharmaceutical companies, Griffin’s girlfriend, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, and Griffin’s ex-wife.

Even worse, the clock is ticking.  The virus kills its victims in seven days!

Forcing Griffin to choose between his own freedom, the lives of people he loves, and possibly the fate of the entire world.