It started out looking like a simple case of food poisoning. But it turned out to be an infection from a dangerous antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Fortunately, the patient's husband is an epidemiologist, Steffanie Strathdee. Her efforts to cure Thomas Patterson turned to a virus that could kill the bacteria, the title character in the book .
Phage treatment was a more common approach before antibiotics. The authors talk of their harrowing experience and their ultimate success.