It's January, 1925 and there is an outbreak of diphtheria in Nome, Alaska that threatens the lives of its children. There is little life saving serum on hand and all of it is out of date. Over the next several weeks, a courageous group of people risk their reputations, their integrity and their lives to save the city. Using this historical event as a backdrop, "Dead Run" was written for those interested in real life dramatic history, adventure and backs against the wall courage as exemplified by it participants: Governor Scott C. Bone - The pressure is on to send the vital serum to Nome by airplane. Yet Governor Bone seems to be the only one sure that this option would result in up to 3,000 deaths. Nurse Emily Morgan - How do you keep a city alive if all you have is outdated medicine and an iron will? How do you keep yourself from dissolving into despair as you slowly become overwhelmed by events? The Mushers - Wild Bill Shannon's wife honestly believed that even death would not stop him, "he'd shrug it off as a minor inconvenience, spit in the devils eye and still find a way to get it there!" Each chapter chronicles the events of one day in the story, starting with the first detection of the disease. Moving through the ordeal that was the journey of the life saving serum from Anchorage to Nome by dogsled and continues with the budding relationship between Nurse Emily Morgan and Tom Nevel, the father of one of the victims. The pivotal moment for them all comes when the serum arrives in Nome, where it's discovered to be frozen. Emily and Dr. Welch (the only doctor in Nome) are horrified. What can be done? It's the last roll of the dice for Emily, Tom and the people of Nome.