The Shot: A Novel

It is the summer of 2016 when Russia is banned from the Summer Olympics due to its athletes’ use of human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is outraged. After vowing his country will dominate the 2020 Olympics, Putin assembles a secret team of brilliant scientists, researchers, and doctors to develop undetectable performance-enhancing drugs. Creating the miracle serum comes with many obstacles, especially when compounded with an impossible timeframe and the overbearing demands of an ex-KGB agent turned dictator. When the team reluctantly headed by a physician battling internal demons finally achieves what had been a seemingly impossible undertaking, the result is astonishing. As the drug becomes increasingly popular due to its ability to elevate man’s physical and mental abilities to near perfection, its deadly side effects begin to manifest. Will the shot lead to the destruction of mankind?