The Second Cure

Dark, thrilling and compulsively readable.

The Second Cure is a provocative exploration of control, religion, female friendship, courage and belief, written by television writer Margaret Morgan. When a pandemic races through the world, killing off people's faith and making them more reckless and empathetic, scientist Charlotte Zinn and reporter Brigid Bayliss find themselves on the frontline of a world splintering into far left and far right. Charlotte is close to a cure when her partner becomes infected. Overnight her understanding of the disease is turned upside down - could she actually be standing in the way of evolution? Brigid is determined to uncover the dark truth behind Pastor Jack Effenberg's rapid rise to power. Under pressure to flee the new puritanical nation of Capricornia Under pressure to flee his new puritanical nation, where conservative reforms keep tightening and the police are targeting anyone not toeing the party line, she's about to get caught in the church's murky underbelly. Tricia Townsend's god is a vengeful one. A true believer, she's given her life to the Daughters of the Song of Light, but her faith is about to be tested. Together, Brigid and Charlotte are left with an impossible choice - will they irrevocably alter humanity for the chance to save it? What kind of world do you want, and how far would you go to bring it about?