Atom and Eve: a novel

Set several years in the future, sixteen-year-old Ricky Romanello, a college freshman, is playing basketball when he collapses and winds up in a coma suffering from a powerful flu that hits the U.S. population causing deaths and a dramatic slowdown in the economy.

Research scientist Dr. Mandy Fox has been developing an anti-aging drug that she believes might eradicate the flu.

Ricky becomes one of the test subjects. The drug cures him and enough additional volunteers that the government rushes approval for the drug.

But Ricky and others soon discover that an unintended side effect of the new drug and vaccine has catastrophic consequences for him and for the entire population.