If Looks Could Kill

Imagine the Western World reeling from the impact of a massive biological terrorist attack. The symptoms of this plague are easy to spot. They cover every inch of human skin: disfiguring, blighting and rotting with merciless efficiency. But this appalling contagion, custom-made by extremists, only affects females. Forced to hide their ravaged flesh, the women of Britain adopt the burqa, are forced to stay at home for 'reasons of hygiene' and can only visit public places with a male escort.
So when refugee Devina falls into the hands of a gang of ambitious petty criminals, they see in her apparent immunity the potential to make a fortune. But the State doesn't want to pay millions for what might be a hoax, so rookie agent Dan Rhodes is charged with tracking down the kidnappers before their ransom deadline expires. Despite his inexperience, Dan realises his vulnerability. His boss, Trevor Jenkins, has already hinted that Dan's mission is 'off the books'.
But what else could Jenkins want with the girl except to hand her over to a government medical team?Meanwhile, Richard Simmons is very much the leader of the kidnapping gang, but are his two sidekicks as loyal as they pretend? And just how badly has this disease damaged the mind of his wife, Fiona? Maybe her mental scars will turn out to be the ugliest of all. In a race against the clock, true identities and motives are exposed; and the truth is spotlighted against a backdrop of veiled faces and rabid prejudices.
In the War on Terror, the mirror just became a secret weapon.