One of the author's earlier books (he's better known for Jurassic Park) it was a great, detailed look at the potential for space travel to bring back foreign infectious agents, and how the government might deal with it.

When a small town is the site of an unmanned probe landing and within hours it's discovered that everyone in it is dead, an emergency team of eminent scientists us assembled in an isolated underground base to identify and if possible find a vaccine or cure for the infection. Needless to say, a few things go wrong along the way.

Enjoyed the story, but it's definitely pretty dated in parts as it was first published in 1969. References to things like printer heads getting stuck, for example! Also not a single female character outside of background scenery. The ending also felt a bit forced and anticlimactic.