In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected. Nine percent survived to mutate into tragically deformed creatures. And one percent gained superpowers. The "Wild Cards" shared-universe series, created and edited since 1987 by "New York Times" #1 bestseller George R. R. Martin ("The American Tolkien" --"Time "magazine) along with Melinda Snodgrass, is the tale of the history of the world since then--and of the heroes among the one percent. Now a new generation of heroes has taken its place on the world stage, its members crucial players in international events. At the United Nations, veteran ace John Fortune has assembled a team of young aces known as the Committee, to assist at trouble spots around the world-including a genocidal was in the Niger Delta, an invasion of zombies in hurricane ravaged New Orleans, and a freak nuclear explosion in a small Texas town.