
Two Piedmont inhabitants, the sick, Sterno-addicted, geriatric Peter Jackson and the constantly bawling infant, Jamie Ritter, are biologic opposites who somehow survived the organism. Upon investigating the town, the Wildfire team discovers that the residents either died in mid-stride or went "quietly nuts" and committed bizarre suicides.

The scientists believe the satellite, which was actually designed to capture upper-atmosphere microorganisms for bio-weapon exploitation, returned with a deadly microorganism that kills by nearly instantaneous disseminated intravascular coagulation (lethal blood clotting). Christian Kirke, anthropologist and electrolytes specialist, was unavailable for duty because of appendicitis. The Robertson Odd Man Hypothesis states that unmarried men are capable of carrying out the best, most dispassionate decisions during crises and he is given the only key that can disarm the self-destruct mechanism. Hall is the "odd man", since he is the only one without a spouse. Mark Hall, M.D., surgeon, biochemistry and pH specialist. Charles Burton, infection vectors specialist and Dr. Jeremy Stone, bacteriologist specialist Dr. The Wildfire scientific team studying the unknown strain is composed of Dr.

The base commander suspects the satellite returned with an extraterrestrial organism and recommends activating Wildfire, the government-sponsored team that counters extraterrestrial biological infestation. Aerial surveillance reveals that everyone in Piedmont, Arizona, the town closest to where the satellite landed, is apparently dead.

When a military satellite returns to Earth, a recovery team is dispatched to retrieve it during a live radio communication with their base, the team members suddenly die.
